


Long Road Home

by Denois



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Background Larissa Duan/Shitty Knight, Canon Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, John Johnson the Metaphysical Goalie, M/M, Maine slang, Multi, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, So Very Slow, background Caitlin Farmer/Chris Chowder, background Caitlin Farmer/original female character, background implied Holsom, background jack zimmermann/eric bittle - Freeform, canon typical cursing, canon typical drinking, canon typical underage drinking, minor law breaking in order to fulfill the spirit of the law, mystical goalie psychic super powers, one scene of threats to coerce non con sexual acts will be warned in advance, references to lobsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-05-08 18:57:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14700216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Retelling of Dex and Nursey's time at Samwell. Canon adjacent through Check Please Year 3.





	1. Taddy Tour

**Author's Note:**

> This is all [Lukutoukka's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lukutoukka/pseuds/Lukutoukka) fault. I read the Chowder week stuff and then had to read the actual comic and now I believe we are engaged in mutual instigation, enabling, and encouragement. 
> 
> Great big thank you to Lukutoukka and Theo for beta reading and listening to me as I fell in love with all these boys and girls.
> 
> I intended this fic to explore some ideas I had about how Dex's and Nursey's personalities relates to people I know and have known in Texas. It was also supposed to be short. It's grown exponentially from my first idea and is now being parsed out in chapters.
> 
> Specific trigger warnings will be provided in the end notes for the chapter before the event and in the beginning notes of the chapter in which it occurs.
> 
> Of course, the setting and most characters belong to Ngozi, I'm just daydreaming in that world.

William J Poindexter was fairly certain he was going to go to the University of Maine starting next year. If he didn’t get in there, well, the local community college would do. But he really hoped for UMaine Orono. The Black Bears were Division 1 and had a hockey team. Right now, that’s what he was looking for in a university. He hadn’t even picked up brochures from the private schools and the out of state schools. In-state public school tuition was going to be rough enough even with scholarships.

Then he got a message from someone named John Johnson. Apparently, a small private university in Massachusetts was offering a scholarship and an all expense paid trip to tour the campus so he could make his decision. Will was willing to bet that attending a private school full of prep school kids was the last thing he wanted to do. But still. Jack Zimmerman went there. And they were a good school. And UMO didn’t have any full scholarships left, so he’d have to find time for work and hockey. So, Will found himself in the stands of Faber, listening to a short Vietnamese girl and surrounded by those prep school kids he wanted to avoid.

He glanced around at the other boys and amended the thought. Those inhumanly attractive prep school boys that he wanted to avoid at all costs. There’s no way he belonged with this group. He’d never before questioned his looks. He knew he wasn’t a movie star, but he did all right compared to the other guys in school and besides, he’d been working too hard since he was a kid to really pay attention to if other people liked his looks or not. But now he got the feeling he was a solid eight surrounded by tens.

A boy in a green SnapBack brushed past to go talk to another group of guys. He pulled his eyes away from the back of his fellow “tadpole” and amended his thoughts again. There were probably some elevens here as well. He was definitely wallflower material in this group.

Then suddenly one of the guys was talking to him. 

“Bro— Faber’s cooler than I imagined! Can’t you picture it? Being at center ice face off with the big windows in the back?! Well, one of you would be at center ice. I’d be in the net.” So he’s a goalie, like Johnson, definitely an odd breed.

Will kept his arms crossed and stayed a bit back, still pretty sure this guy was actually talking to someone else but, well, he didn’t see anyone else. “I mean, I guess it’s all right. But I’m still, uh, leaning towards a state school – or somewhere less – preppy.” Then he added on softer, “D-Didn’t you say you went to one of those like preppy private schools or something?”

The goalie (wasn’t his name Chris?) didn’t even seem to hear the response. “Hey, it’s Dex, right? Could you take my picture? I can’t get over how ‘swawesome those windows are!”

Will couldn’t even start to work out the new nickname that he’d just been given because Larissa broke in. “Wow, wait, kid. Did you just say ‘swawesome?”

Chris’s frenzied response was drowned out by a new voice, “GOOOOD MORNING, MY LOVELY LITTLE TADPOLES!”

Coming down the steps was a guy with what looked like a wicked mustache and hair pulled into a man bun. Amazingly, the booming voice was not coming from him, but the small wiry blond guy next to him. Apparently, Eric Bittle was the official Samwell Hockey hospitality representative and there were goodie bags. Will hesitated for a moment. Were goodie bags standard at these private universities? Especially ones with baked goods? The only thing he got at UMO was a lanyard and a pen.

Will dropped these thoughts and focused on exploring the contents of his bag as that wicked attractive guy from earlier came over. For one excruciating second, Will thought that he was going to have to make small talk with the guy (Derek?), but then he started talking to the guy with the ‘stache and man bun. 

“Nursey! Representing Andover on that taddy tour! What up bro?”

Ok, so now Will had a name for the guy instead of just referring to him as “wicked attractive guy”. That should be helpful, in case he ever wanted to actually speak out loud. And fuck. Andover definitely sounds like a private preppy school. Rich, incredibly good looking, already knows the team, they are about as different as can be.

“Heeey! Shitty! Knew I’d run into you eventually. Man, Samwell’s pretty sick.” 

Wait, did he just call that guy Shitty?

Will tried to pretend he wasn’t listening in. Chris was right here. It would really suck to alienate everyone and Chris seemed to be cool with him. He grabbed the mini pie out of the bag and took a bite. Then stopped. Holy fuck. This pie was better than his mom’s. A secret he instantly vowed to take to his grave.

“But yo, Man! Your other team manager is mad hyper.” 

“Who, Bitty? Brah, Bitty’s not a team manager — He’s on the team.”

Will couldn’t pretend anymore. “That guy? Wow, I thought since Jack Zimmerman played here, guys would be… less good at baking. If you know what I mean.” 

Will kicked himself. That sounded really judgmental, but he didn’t want to say that it shocked him that there was a guy that was five foot six on a team with a guy that should have gone in the first round of the NHL draft. That’s a huge disparity, right? And the guy could bake. In his mind there was bolding and underlining, plus some stars and squiggles, all around the word BAKE when it came to Eric “Bitty” Bittle.

**~*~BAKE~*~**

Luckily, his comment was immediately drowned out by Chris. Love those excitable goalies. 

“Okay!! I DID IT! I JUST ENROLLED!! I’M SAMWELL 2018!” Then, as the excitement seemed to overload him, “‘Swawesome!”

Somehow, amazingly, the rest of the tour went by without anything mortifying happening. At the end, Johnson approached him.

“Hey man. What do you think?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s nice. Just, it’s a bit preppy. I’m not sure it would be a good fit. You know?” Will crossed his arms and tried not to scuff his shoes in the dirt.

Johnson put a hand on his shoulder. “Look man, you should really consider it. Bitty’s a scholarship dude too, and the team’s taken to him no problem. I’m sure you’ll fit in. Plus, it’ll be good for the narrative and your character development.”

Then he left. Just like that. What the hell did that mean? Narrative and character development? Goalies, man. They’re weird.

But if Bitty was also on scholarship and everyone seemed to love him. Maybe it could work? Will couldn’t bake to win their good graces, but maybe there’s something he could offer.

Will couldn’t stand the thought of being considered a charity case. Poindexters earn their way and help those as they can when they can. 

On the other hand, Chris didn’t seem to care that he would be a scholarship kid. Maybe, maybe he would apply.

———————————

Derek Nurse hadn’t even applied to other colleges. His mom went to Samwell, he’d been groomed for it from birth. It was a done deal and he had no say in the matter. Luckily, he knew Shitty from high school, so it shouldn’t be too bad. A place that could deal with B. Shitty Knight in his “I don’t give a shit, I’m an adult now” prime couldn’t be as stuck up as Andover, right? Higher education was supposed to have fewer conservative assholes. He’s sure he read that somewhere.

And ok, maybe he mistook Bitty for a team manager. It’s just been awhile since he saw a hockey player that short and small. But when that ginger kid piped up with “I thought since Jack Zimmerman played here, guys would be… less good at baking. If you know what I mean.” Nursey had to stop himself from asking “No, what do you mean, Mayberry?”

Just let it go, man. It’s not worth getting upset about. Besides, he heard the guy talking earlier about going to a state school. Wouldn’t even have to worry about being on the team together. Nursey really thought that he’d be happier about that thought.


	2. Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Frogs go through orientation along with every other freshman athlete. Will just wants to be left alone, Chris just wants everyone to get along, Derek just wants to annoy Will. Everyone hates icebreakers, but maybe Dex most of all

Will ended up applying to both Samwell and UMO. UMO actually sent him a really nice acceptance package in the mail that included a metal water bottle and some other stuff, but as he suspected, there were only partial scholarships left and he didn’t get any of the independent scholarships that he applied for. When he sat down and did the math, the bigger scholarship to Samwell meant that he’d end up owing less overall there even with the much higher starting point. 

So, when August rolled around, he was hefting boxes up three flights of stairs to his dorm, grateful that he could afford a single room, even if it was the size of a closet and meant sharing a bathroom down the hall. He was also able to attend an earlier session of the freshman orientation. Samwell gave out welcome packages at orientation. Will liked the SnapBack and travel mug, but he’d been hoping for more pie. 

“Bitty must not help out with orientation.” He was muttering to himself, but he was surrounded by other freshman athletes and a few shot him confused looks. Will shrugged it off. By the time he was playing hockey and they were playing whatever else, it’s not like they were going to be friends anyway.

The orientation leaders were trying to get all the different players to mix with different sports rather than grouping up like cliques, but they were failing miserably. Will was planning to find a back corner where he could ignore all the preppy kids, but suddenly there was a hand on his arm and he realized he’d been hearing a constant thread through the din of the gathered freshmen. 

“Dex! I’ve been calling you! You must not have heard me. Remember, me? Chris? From the taddy tour? Come on over here, we’ve got some ‘swawesome seats.”

Will allowed himself to be pulled along by Chris until he saw their destination was a couple of seats by that wicked hot guy from the taddy tour, then he stopped in his tracks. Chris’s hold on his arm pulled him off balance and he stumbled slightly before continuing to the seat that Chris pushed him at. 

His arm bumped up against the hot guy. “Uh, sorry.”

“Don’t worry, it’s chill.”

Will rolled his eyes. Sure, chill. Whatever. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t help that their arms stayed pressed together. The person who set this orientation up knew that there were going to be dozens or hundreds of collegiate athletes and still didn’t put enough space between the chairs. 

He tried to ignore it. He crossed his arms. He fixed his eyes on the speaker. But they kept being dragged back down to where their skin was constantly either touching, or just barely apart like the tease of touch. 

He’d been feeling pretty good about how his skin had tanned up from the summer on the lobster boat. More than just the spread of freckles as they overlapped and merged together, his base color had actually darkened. 

Not that he could tell with the contrast of the warm golden brown skin next to him. Jealousy curled in his stomach. He was tired of being made fun of for not tanning. He cut the thought off and focused on the speaker who was talking about the history of the school.

———————————  
Nursey stayed in the seats to save their spot while Chris ran off. He’d been yelling “Dex” for a few minutes and Nursey couldn’t remember who that was supposed to be, so he stayed relaxed with his arms across the backs of the chairs next to him. He was glad Chris was going to be playing hockey with him. He was nice, if excitable. But the excitement was like a manifestation of pure innocent joy and it was beautiful. 

He was pulled from his reverie by the return of Chris’s constant stream of words and he looked over. He felt his smile slip slightly when he caught sight of Dex. Now he remembered, Dex was the kid who was supposed to be going to a state school which would have been great because then he wouldn’t have to worry about hockey players that bake. 

Chris was nudging Dex towards the chair next to Nursey and Nursey considered leaving his arm across the back but finally he dropped it so Dex would actually sit.

Derek Nurse liked to think he was above pettiness, but he still leaned into Dex as he sat so the other boy would bump into his arm. 

“Uh, sorry.”

“Don’t worry. It’s chill.” Nursey smiled serenely as Dex rolled his eyes and turn away while crossing his arms. 

If Nursey spent the next half hour of speeches leaning into Dex to press their arms together or barely brush them so the skin contact was just a tease, it was certainly only to rile up a homophobe. Nursey couldn’t think of any other reason why he’d do it, and if towards the end he was trying to compare the color of Dex’s freckles to his own warm brown skin, that was just his writer's brain interested in creating a metaphor. If he let himself become so wrapped up in the poetic ways to describe the image that he could have sworn he heard a warning about dragons on campus, well, maybe he could use more sleep too.

After the speech about the history of the university, the orientation leaders had them break into small groups to do “getting to know you” activities. They tried to make everyone split up but Chris wasn’t letting either of them more than two steps away from him, so they ended up together with a couple of women from the basketball team. 

“Ok everyone! Time to play a game called Two Truths and A Lie! Everyone take turns telling two true things about yourself and one lie and then the rest of the group has to try to guess which is the lie!”

“Oh ‘swawesome! I’ll go first.” Chris was vibrating with excitement, so everyone motioned for him to go ahead. “Ok, so I’m from California. I’m a goalie. And… I do NOT like the Sharks.” 

Nursey looked at Chris, then at Dex, then at the ladies, and back to Chris, and his Sharks hoodie and Sharks SnapBack. “I think we are going to guess that you actually do like the Sharks.”

“Oh man! That’s right. You’re so good at this! You go next.”

Nursey tilted his head in a shrug. “Ok, let’s see, my family lives in a penthouse in Manhattan, I love old tv shows from like the 60s, and I’ve never had a girlfriend.”

Nurse looked placidly at the people around him as they furrowed their brows and exchanged looks. 

“You expect us to believe that YOU have never had a girlfriend? That’s clearly the lie.” Dex seems offended, as though Nursey had insulted him specifically. 

Nursey opened his mouth to reply when Chris piped up.

“No, I think it’s the penthouse thing that’s the lie.” His eyes were focused on Nursey with a startling intensity, but then he blinked and resolved back to his cheerful self. “Ok, who’s right?”

Nursey shook his head a bit. “Uh, you are. My family has a brownstone in uptown. But how’d you know?”

Chris smiled happily, “It’s just like when someone has a penalty shot. Are they going glove side? Are they going stick side? At the last second, you just know and you commit.”

Dex snorted between them, “Yeah ok. Good goalies always seem a little psychic. I guess this proves you’re one of the best.” 

Chris beamed at the comment and everyone seemed a bit more relaxed. 

“Why don’t you go next, Dex?” Nursey was now lounging significantly in his seat so he let his leg fall over so that his knee bumped the other boy’s.

Dex ran a hand over his hair and then rubbed his neck. “Uh sure. Ok. My mother is the CEO of a multimillion dollar company. I’m from Maine. I worked on a lobster boat this past summer.”

The basketball players started discussing the options, “Lobster and Maine do go together.”

“But there’s no reason his mom couldn’t be a CEO. It’s not the 50s.”

A small smirk twitched on Nursey’s lip, “No. I mean, you’re definitely from Maine, have you heard yourself? Your mom being a CEO and you working on a lobster boat don’t go together. High powered exec is going to have her kid work a dangerous backbreaking job instead of cushy internship? Nah. Not happening.” His gaze slid over Dex’s skin. “I call the first one the lie. Your mom isn’t any level executive at a multimillion dollar company, but she might work for one.”

Dex scowled at him. “You’re right.” Then he stood up and stalked off, his hands clenched in fists by his sides.

One of the girls started her two truths and a lie, but Nursey wasn’t listening. His focus kept shifting back to the direction that Dex stalked off. Really, what got up his shorts? It’s not like Nurse had insulted his mom or anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw Nursey, you're kinda a douche on accident sometimes.
> 
> Next chapter is the one with the trigger warning. I plan to post it on May 24. 
> 
> NEXT Chapter  
> TW threats in an attempt to coerce non consensual sexual activities


	3. First Week Freshman Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classes have started, everyone is settling into their roles on the team, and we get some insight into our boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another huge thank you to Lukutoukka and Theo for letting me bounce ideas off of them and beta reading my work and dealing with my random, near constant, ineffectual flailing.
> 
>  
> 
> TW for this chapter. Threats to coerce non consensual sexual activities.

“Hey mom.”

“William. Are you ok? Should you be up? You were just pekid!”

“I’m fine mom. I just had a cold. Half the freshmen did.”

“Ok. If you’re sure. How are classes? How’s hockey? Have you met any nice young girls? Or nice young boys?”

Dex laughs softly. “Classes just started, but they are ok so far. Hockey is good. The first defensive line is really good, they are very in sync and I think I can learn a lot from them. So far the only woman I’ve met is Lardo, uh, that’s Larissa Duan. She’s the manager for the team, so she’s got a nickname like the rest of us. She’s pretty nice, but I get the impression one of the seniors is crushing on her really hard. She’s a good friend to have.”

“Go on. What about all the boys?”

“Chris Chow, Chowder. He’s a goalie and a freshman also. He’s from California and the nicest, most optimistic and innocently excitable person I’ve ever seen. I think anyone else would annoy me, but he’s genuine, so it’s cool. Coach Murray and Hall paired me up with a guy name Derek Nurse, Nursey. He’s from New York, the city not the state. His family has a brownstone in Manhattan. Just the sight of his stupid wicked hot face makes me want to gag. He’s always going on about “chill” this and “chill” that.”

“Uh huh. Can’t stand the guy huh.”

“That’s right. Ransom and Holster are the first line defense guys I told you about. They’re really cool and nice. Odd, but nice. I think they might be dating? Bitty is always baking and cooking, so you don’t have to worry about me eating. I promise. Aw crap, ma, I gotta let you go, Bitty’s oven is all stoved up and I promised I’d look at it. I’m right out straight, so I need to get to it now before I forget. I’ll call you again this weekend, ok?”

“Ok. Just promise me, no romantic entanglements with folks from away.”

“Mom, I’m at university in another state. Everyone here is from away.”

“Just don’t bring any of them into my house”

“I promise, mom. I love you. Bye.”

“Love you, Will.”

———————————

By the time the first week of classes rolled around and everyone was trying out classes for the semester, Nursey was pretty happy with life. Hockey was working well, he and Dex were smooth on the ice. He was clicking with the other guys. Chowder was quickly becoming his best friend. He’d even started to fall into a rhythm with Dex off the ice. 

Sure that rhythm was based on irritating Dex, but Nursey thought it might be something like having a sibling. Not a sibling, he quickly amended to himself. For some reason thinking Dex and brother in the same sentence made him feel really uneasy.

He just really enjoyed annoying him. And he thought maybe Dex enjoyed it too. Because when he very carefully wasn’t touching him the other day, Dex pushed him away, but not like he meant it. Nursey was pretty sure if Dex had meant it then he wouldn’t have been able to grab hold of his shirt, and ear. That was probably too far. Maybe he should apologize. 

Except last time he tried he forgot where his feet were, tripped, and spilled cereal down Dex’s back. 

———————————

By the time the first week of classes rolled around and everyone was trying out classes for the semester, Dex had been having a wicked shitty time. Stupid wicked hot Nursey wouldn’t leave him alone. He got a cold and had to hole up in his room for days. He still wasn’t sure how Bitty got in to leave him chicken soup and a pie since he didn’t have a roommate to open the door, but that was the one good thing. That and the hockey. 

NCAA hockey was a huge step up from high school. Watching Ransom and Holster on the ice was like, like nothing he’d ever seen before. He focused and doubled down on practice. He tried to ignore Nursey off the ice.

Then, Nursey spilled cereal down his back at team breakfast. Which is why Dex was running late to the comp sci class he and Chris were taking. Which is why he was holding his laptop instead of having it safely in a bag. And which is why he wasn’t paying attention and he tripped and dropped the laptop. Like that fucking gawmy Nursey. 

He didn’t even have time to check for damage, but for some reason the hawkers for the school clubs decided this was the perfect time to fall on him with offers to join, shoving pens, stickers, and flyers into his hands as he tried to grab his supplies and get into the building.

He slid into his seat beside Chris only a couple of minutes after the start time. The professor raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Dex supposed it wasn’t completely uncommon the first week. Freshmen getting lost and such. Chris was much less willing to let it go with a shrug. Especially when he saw Dex gingerly place his laptop on the table and brush it off.

“OMG. What happened?” Chris was not exactly subtle even when he was trying to be quiet and half a dozen people shushed him.

Dex was much quieter, soft and low, “I’ll tell you after class.”

He refocused on his laptop while the professor went over the syllabus. There was a gouge in the top, but when he opened it, it booted up with no problems. Not even a pixel out of place. He let out a sigh of relief. 

At the end of class, he closed the laptop and ran his hand over the gouge. He felt the irritation and anger rising. How could he be so stupid and gawmy?

“What happened Dex?!” Chowder was finally released to talk as everyone gathered their stuff and filed out of the room.

“I was running late and missed a step. Fell and dropped all my stuff. Dammit.” He slammed his notebook closed and ran his hands over his face. “I’m as bad as Nursey.” He looked up and grabbed Chowder’s arm. “You can’t tell him, C. Please.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t. But won’t he wonder what happened to your laptop until you get a new one?”

Dex looked back at the laptop. “It still works. It doesn’t make sense to replace it. I just gotta stop Nurse from seeing the damage.” He tapped his fingers against his stuff thinking. He looked down as he felt a weird texture change. His pinky was hitting against one of the stickers that had been shoved in his hands earlier. 

Samwell Republicans. Well, shit. His family all voted Republican anyway. He peeled off the back and carefully placed it on the laptop. It covered the gouge without a trace.

“There. That will work.” He finally felt his breaths come easy again. He smiled at Chowder.

Chowder was looking at the sticker with an odd expression. “Yeah. I guess that works. Where’d you get that?”

“I don’t know. The clubs are all trying to get new members and when I fell a bunch of them saw weakness and started shoving stuff in my hands. This must have been one of them.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Just remember. Don’t tell anyone what happened.”

———————————

Nursey glanced up from his spot lounging on the couch as C and Dex came in from their comp sci class. “Hey guys. How’s it going.” The last words slowed and felt rough in his throat as his gaze caught on the Samwell Republican sticker on Dex’s laptop. 

Distantly, he heard Chowder say something, but he couldn’t understand. It was garbled and far away like he was underwater. He blinked slowly and his mind changed the sticker to the Andover Republican pin on Tristan’s lapel. 

_He could remember the exact way it caught the low fluorescent lights and glinted dully as he stared at it while trying to make sense of what the older boy was saying._

_“Come on. You’ve been meeting me here to make out for weeks. It’s time you actually put out. You can’t just lead me on like this.”_

_Derek’s lips were still tingling from kisses as he tried to pull away. “I told you, I’m not ready for that. I want to wait.”_

_Tristan sneered. “Your wants don’t really matter. I played your games, now you better hit your knees or I’m headed straight to the administrators.” Tristan started pouting and fake crying “He just forced himself on me. I couldn’t get away. He was too big and brutish.” The fake crying stopped abruptly._

_“But that didn’t happen.” Derek felt his shoulders curling in around him, trying to make himself smaller. At 14 he was already taller and bigger than most of the other boys at the school, but he thought he’d diffused the inherent reaction of seeing him as a threat. Walls of chill to deflect barbs and soften perceptions._

_But chill couldn’t help. Physically pulling away and defending himself couldn’t help, it would just be used as proof. Why had he ever thought Tristan was attractive? Looking at the smug sneer, he couldn’t remember._

_“But it will be your word against mine, won’t it? And I’m the well respected captain of the lacrosse team, son of a state senator.” He paused to look Derek up and down. “And you are nothing. Who will they believe?”_

_Derek took a deep breath and closed his eyes._

_“I don’t know, Tristy. I think that the word of Derek Nurse, of the Manhattan Nurses, corroborated by B. Knight of the Boston Knights, will actually carry a lot more weight than you think.” A figure stepped around the end of the stacks, smaller than Derek but with an attitude that made him seem to take up the room._

_Suddenly, the new boy dropped his gaze to his hand. “Oh silly me. My dictaphone is still recording. I wonder how long that’s been on.” He pressed a button and tucked the recorder into his bag._

_“Now, if you don’t mind, Tristy, my friend here and I are late for lunch with the hockey team.”_

_Tristan tightened his grip on Derek’s arm. “He’s not on the hockey team,” He snarled._

_“Not yet, but I’m working on changing that.”_

_Derek pulled his arm away from Tristan and walked towards the other boy._

_Once they were out of the library he finally managed to find his voice again. “Hockey?”_

_“Oh yeah. I’m a winger for the team here. Planning on going to Samwell next year. My grandparents are pissed right the fuck off.”_

_“Ok. But you want me to play here?”_

_“Yeah, man. You look like you’re going to fill out to be prime d-man material. Plus, fighting is basically fucking encouraged in hockey.”_

Nursey took several deep breaths as the world snapped back into focus and Chowder’s words started making sense again. 

“So, Yeah. It’s totally ‘swawesome and you should take the class with us.” Chowder looked at him expectantly but Nursey waved him off.

“Sorry C. Poetry’s more my speed. Maybe we’ll be able to take a class together next term. That’d be chill.” Nursey felt the smile slide onto his features, easy when looking at Chowder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that's all for Nursey's tragic backstory. :-(
> 
> TW for next chapter: violence, panic due to anticipation of homophobic violence, canon typical hazing and drinking.


	4. Hazeapalooza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to haze the frogs + Jack. None of the frogs took the kidnapping very well.   
> Apparently, Jack took part in the kidnapping, so I assume he got to Faber and Shitty just started stripping him down and tying him up too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: violence, panic due to anticipation of homophobic violence, canon typical hazing and drinking.

Dex wiped his hands over his eyes. After Bitty talked to him about Nursey, he’d been trying. He really had. But Nursey seemed to get a kick out of being irritating and if he wasn’t angry at Nursey, he’d have to think. Being angry, fighting, that was easy. Like being friends with Chowder, that was easy. 

He pulled his hands down his face and looked at the homework again. It was still so early in the semester, it shouldn’t be giving him this much trouble. Yet here he was, studying on a Friday because he wasn’t sure he’d get it figured out in time for turn in on Monday. And he had to keep his grades up for his scholarship. 

Suddenly his vision went dark. At first he thought it was sleep deprivation but then he felt rough hands on him, dragging him out of his chair. 

“What the fuck!” He tried to fight back, flailing. Everything he’d learned about fighting, about self defense, went out the window. He couldn’t get his hands free, but he was a big guy, lots of muscle. He threw his weight towards the body next to him.

“Ow. He body checked me. Keep that on the ice, man.” Was that. Was that Holster? His own teammates were going to take him out and beat him up? How’d they even know? Shit. He must have let his guard down because of Bitty. 

But if it’s Holster, then it’s Ransom. He’s big, but they’ve got years and muscles on him. He can’t take on the entire first defensive line. So, he goes completely limp as they drag him out of the library. Make them work for it. 

“Remember, you didn’t see anything. But, uh, do you ever work Faber? You look really familiar. You know, I’m on the hockey team.”

“Ransom! Flirt on your own time.” 

Dex felt himself moving again. Where would they take him? Just out back? Off campus? The Haus? Who all was in on this?

“Come on man, walk would you? I don’t want to drag you all the way to Faber. Just because we’re gonna haze you doesn’t mean you have to make it this difficult on us.” Ransom’s voice cut through the thoughts. 

Hazing? Was this just regular hazing? He stumbled to get his feet under him and started walking while they pulled him along. 

“Thanks. You’re a good frog. Always liked you best.” It was kind of nice to hear Ransom say that. 

The fact that a few minutes later they were stripping him to his boxers was definitely concerning, but at least the bag was removed from his head. Though now his hands were tied together and they kept pushing beers into them. And he wasn’t alone. The other frogs were some comfort. The fact that Jack Zimmermann was kneeling on the ice next to him was very comforting. They wouldn’t do anything too bad to the captain.

“FROGS. This evening you partake in the most sacred of hockey rituals.” Shitty glared through aviators. “HAZEAPALOOZA — before it, Hazestock — bonds us in the Samwell brotherhood. Tonight, you frogs will crawl onto the shores of manhood naked, blindfolded, and bitch-ass shitfaced.”

Shitty paused dramatically again. “But not alone! For I learned only hours ago that among us, there was one who has yet to endure the gauntlet. Jack Laurent Zimmermann! Captain of our own Samwell Men’s Hockey Team.”

Jack shrugged apologetically, “Uh, I was out of town?”

“BULLSHIT. You were in town, Zimmermann — Dweeb-town.” Shitty’s comment was met with a chorus of “Burn!” 

But Dex was distracted looking around. Sometimes he forgot how many members were actually on the team. It seemed like he really only ever saw ten of the other guys, including C who was definitely his best friend at Samwell.

“And now!! I would like to offer y’all sweaters OR pie. But not both! ‘Cause I’m hazing you!!” Bitty’s evil laugh was cute. Dex felt bad for thinking these guys could have been involved in something sinister. Bitty brought pie to a hazing, that’s the furthest from sinister you can get. 

Dex’s face felt warm from the beers, and C was leaning on him, whispering in his ear. Whispering was not the right word, but he thinks that’s what C was attempting. “Oh man oh man oh man guys guys guys!! We’re being initiated with Jack Zimmermann. Zimmermannnnnn.”

Dex didn’t plan to speak, but he couldn’t hold back. “You know Jack?? I’m just gonna say it. YOU shoulda gone first in the draft — not Kent Parson. Also your ass is shockingly large. Like, it is scary.” Ok, he definitely did not mean to say that last part. But is it really his fault? There’s hockey butts and then there’s Jack Zimmermann’s hockey butt. 

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. He remembered freezing while walking through a wooded area, and feeling that it was unfair that Chowder got a sweater while he was freezing. Then fire, and nothing.

———————————

The flames of your eyes spark  
Shooting embers through the air  
To catch in my heart.

Nursey stared at the paper. It didn’t change. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. His head was still full of cotton from the hazing the night before, but he’d had worse hangovers. So why weren’t the words coming? How come every time he tried to write for his poetry class all he could think about was firelight reflected in amber eyes?

His phone vibrated and he put down his pencil to take a look. 

Opie: Hey, can we talk?

Nursey paused before replying. He’d stayed in his dorm instead of finding a nice pile of leaves because he was trying to avoid people. And talking to Dex probably meant fighting with Dex.

Me: Do you mean fight?  
Opie: No. just talk. 

———————————

Dex kept looking around Lake Quad. None of the leaf piles seemed to be hiding a wicked hot d-man, but the sun was really bright. Maybe Nursey could turn into a tree or something. That would explain the antagonism. Nurse was not only a wicked hot guy, he was also a dryad, and he could sense that Dex’s brother was a logger and his grandfather was a carpenter. They fight because instinctual self preservation. 

Something about that theory bugged Dex, but the sun was stabbing his brain through his eyes even though they were barely slit open, so he didn’t dwell on it. It was enough to have Derek Nurse figured out finally. His phone buzzed and he swiped Seggy’s pic away to check the text. 

WHG: Sure. I’m in my dorm.   
Me: And that is where?

Dex didn’t have the energy to be irritated by the fact that the location was in the luxury dorm hall, or by the kitchenette, private bath, and room for a couch in addition to a full size bed. He idly considered checking the price for the single suites for next year.

The lights were low, and while there was some music playing, it was low enough to just barely register. He flopped onto the couch and closed his eyes. He hadn’t been this hungover in awhile and he’d forgotten how bad the headaches he got were. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about the vomiting. 

Something cold pressed against his arm and he opened his eyes again. Nursey was holding a Powerade bottle against his arm and another in his other hand. Dex’s eyes moved from the bottle, to Nursey’s face, to the fridge and then back before he took it. 

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, you look worse than I feel.”

“Thanks.” This time the word came out with an edge.

“You know what I mean, Mayberry.”

“Yeah. Do you got any ibuprofren or aspirin? My head is trying to murder me.” Dex felt a bottle land next to him and roll against his leg. “Thanks. You are a good friend.”

Nursey snorted. 

“That’s actually why I wanted to talk. Not that I don’t appreciate your medicine stash.”

“You wanted to talk to me about how I’m a good friend?”

“Well, you are to Chowder. And I hope I am to C as well. But I know it’s been stressing him out that we argue all the time. So I wanted to propose a truce. Or at least a reduction in hostility. Especially when C is around.” He poured four pills into his palm and tossed them back with the Powerade. “How do you drink this stuff? Ugh.” He held up a hand while he took another sip. “No, don’t answer that, it’s probably an acquired taste or something.”

“Or something, yeah. And yeah, I can chill if you can. For C. And since Murray and Hall seem intent on us being d-man partners.”

Dex lifted his bottle in a toast. The dim lights and quiet were helping and he opened his eyes and looked around the room again. The decorations were a weird mix of literature and hockey. Extra bookcases flanked by photos of NHL players. He’s pretty sure he recognizes one of Seggy and another of Evander Kane.

“Ok. Thanks bro. I’m gonna go bury myself under my bed until my brain stops trying to escape my skull.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess now I know why Dex always limits his alcohol intake at kegsters. Killer headaches the next day are a strong deterrent.
> 
> Dex is possibly one of the people that follows "@JackZimmermannsass" on twitter. (Bitty is possibly the one who runs said twitter and just posts pictures of Jack's butt.) (If this isn't a real thing, it should be)
> 
> Don't worry, I'm not planning on having a single chapter a week for their entire school careers, the chapters are going to start skipping time and covering more time.


	5. Fall 1.0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ransom and Holster should just start a Winter Screw date matchmaking service. It would save everyone a lot of time and effort.
> 
> AKA The Frogs fail at finding their own dates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my love for Lukutoukka and Theo.

Things were going well. The fights were almost non-existent and even the arguments were becoming rare. Sometimes Dex thought he could even consider Nursey a friend and not just when Chowder was around.

Then Nursey does things like open his mouth at team breakfast. “Okay, so who are you crushing on?”

Dex manages to not drop his fork, but it’s a near thing. He stares at Nursey intently. “No universe exists where I would tell you that.”

“Come on. We can help each other out finding dates for Winter Screw. If we don’t find dates, then Ransom and Holster will set us up. I already heard Holster talking about options. You trust me more than them right?”

Dex looked at Nursey, then to Chowder who was watching them both quietly. 

“Just hear me out ok? My friend, Kayleigh, from Andover would be perfect for you. She does experimental theater and sews her own clothes. Sick, right?” Dex couldn’t tell if Nursey’s smug look was because he thought he’d found the perfect date for Dex or because he knew how much that sounded like the opposite of what Dex would want in a date.

“Wow! She must be really creative. But if she sews her own clothes, then she’s good at fixing stuff, too, Dex.” Chowder was grinning. Of course he was.

“That entire sentence was frustrating.” Dex was still staring at Nursey, like he hadn’t even heard Chowder’s comment. “Whatever, I’ve gotta get to class.” Dex stood up to drop his dishes at the receptacle and leave.

He was barely out the door when Chowder caught up to him. “Why don’t you at least try talking to Kayleigh? You never know, right? And talking could help you get your mind off of your crush.”

“Look, C. I love you. You’re the best person at this university, probably the best in this state.” Chowder beamed at him, but Dex continued. “There’s plenty of cunning people here, I’ll find a date on my own, or go stag, but there is no way, no way in hell, that I’m letting Nursey, of all people, set me up. I’d rather take my chances with Ransom and Holster.”

——————

Between hockey, classes, midterms, and code that didn’t want to work, Dex didn’t have time to think about Winter Screw the next few weeks. He didn’t have time to think about anything. But his room was tiny and stifling, so he decided to take his laptop over to the Haus and see if he could score some baked goods to help his brain function. 

This was risky, since there were decent odds that something would be broken and he’d need to fix it. But honestly, figuring out an appliance and getting it to work lifts his mood, so maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing either. And if Chowder was around he could get some extra eyes on his code.

Dex was sitting at the kitchen table with half his attention on his homework and half on Bitty as he made brownies when Nursey came in and slid into the chair across from him.

“Are those brownies? Please can I have some?” Nursey turned sideways in the chair give Bitty puppy dog eyes, and Dex rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know, mister. That depends on if you’re going to tell me about your beau.” Bitty was smiling coyly when he turned around and Dex’s fingers stilled on his keyboard.

“I don’t know what you mean, Bits. Single guy right here.”

Bitty dropped the plate of cooling brownies between the two frogs and swatted at Nursey’s shoulder. “You don’t have to hide from me. I saw you outside of Cliffsides, no wait, “L” it’s called now. I didn’t get a good look in the dark, but you were definitely there with a large, handsome fellow. Must have been some guy to take him to L.”

Nursey had started to pick up a brownie, but then pushed the plate away and was picking at his fingers. “No. Nothing like that.” 

Dex was amazed. First, because this was the first he’d heard about Nursey having a date, but mostly because Nursey’s voice had a thread in it that was distinctly unchill.

“Ok. Well, keep your secrets if you must. But you know I’m here to talk if you want to.”

Dex looked at Nursey’s frozen face one more time and took a deep breath. “Jeezum Crow, Bitty. He wasn’t on a date. He was with me. We were trying to hang out together. You know, d-man bonding. Everyone’s pushing us to get along better and I thought if we went out to eat just the two of us then it would help.”

Bitty’s hand flew to his chest as he turned towards Dex. “L is kind of fancy for d-man bonding isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s why it didn’t go great and I yelled at him and Nursey’s trying to pretend it didn’t happen.” Dex turned towards Nursey who seemed shocked, but at least not wooden any more. “Seriously, when I say let’s go get something to eat and bond, I mean Taco Bell, or maybe Jerry’s. You don’t have to throw your money around just to show off to me.”

“Uh, yeah. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.”

“You’re darn tooting it won’t happen again. Because you two are going to march right out and have a proper d-man bonding meal.” Bitty started shooing them out of the kitchen and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The door to the Haus shut behind them and Dex wiped a hand over his face. “Great. Now Bitty won’t feed me lunch and I’ve still gotta figure out this numb code.”

“Let’s go to Annie’s or Jerry’s then. Maybe I can help with the code.” Dex shot a look at Nursey. “Ok, yeah, fair. But still.”

“Yeah, ok. I’m right out straight, but I’m not going to be able to think until I eat, so might as well. Though now I’m kind of craving crunch wraps.” Dex hitched his bag up on his shoulders and started to walk. 

“No way am I going to Taco Hell. Seriously.” 

—————

Nursey insisted on paying, of course. “Bro, you had my back. The least I can do is buy your sandwich and drink. It’s not like it’s that much, you don’t owe me anything for it.”

“Yeah, ok. Whatever. Also, if you’re gonna date guys and don’t want people to know, you need a better alibi or to hide it better. You’re lucky I spent the whole night holed up in my room working on this code or someone might have seen me and known I wasn’t with you.”

“That’s a valid point. Thank you for being so chill about it. I’ll make sure to cover myself.” 

“You know I got your back. Just don’t make numb mistakes like a dub. I can’t believe you took a date to that place. Must be serious. Been hiding them to avoid chirps?” Dex looked down at his food, swirling a fry through ketchup. Nursey figured he was trying to avoid chirping him himself.

“Uh, no. It was a first date.” Nursey grimaced at the admission.

“You took him there on a first date??” Dex’s head jerked up and he stared at Nursey.

“It was his idea.” Nursey felt defensive and something else he couldn’t quite name. Defensive around Dex felt normal, so he grabbed onto that.

“Oh, I guess it makes sense. Whatever.” Okay, Dex letting the argument go wasn’t normal. Nursey couldn’t be the one to keep it going all on his own. 

“Probably won’t see him again anyway. Turns out he was a douche.” He was trying for chill, he wasn’t sure he managed it.

“Guy tells you to take him to the most expensive place possible without going to Boston or Providence and you had to actually go on the date with him to realize he’s a douche?” Dex actually smiled a little while shaking his head. Nursey was really confused now. He’d done a lot of stupid shit around Dex, but he’d never made him smile before.

“Uh, not to be unappreciative, but you seem really chill with the revelation that I was out with a guy.”

“Nurse, you’ve got a topless poster of Tyler Seguin above your bed. I’d done the math.”

“I guess I’m lucky we’re at Samwell, right? One in four. I can find someone else before Screw.” 

“So you’re definitely looking for a guy to take?” 

Nursey stared at his own food. “Yeah, I guess. Pretty sure I’m panromantic, so I wouldn’t mind dating a girl, uh, a woman. But also, definitely gay, and it seems like it would be easier to just find a guy instead of being like ‘Hey, I wanna date you, but I’m never going to want to sleep with you. Is that cool?’ And one in four, right? So, seemed like I should see what was out there.”

“Have you looked around? One in four is a major understatement. Maybe one in four is straight. Doubt it though. Statistically, it doesn’t make sense for basically our whole team to be LGBT+ if only one in four of the student body are.” Dex was staring at him incredulously again.

“The whole team is not.” It was Nursey’s turn to be disbelieving.

“Oh really?”

“Jack, Shitty, Ransom, Holster.” 

“Dude, if you aren’t going to take this seriously, the conversation’s over.” 

Nursey laughed at himself. “Ok, maybe Ransom and Holster are pushing it. It’d actually be pretty chill if everyone was gay or bi or pan or something.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Uh, thanks for the food. I really do gotta study and fix this shit. See you around.”

Dex was out the door before Nursey could figure out if he’d said something wrong

——————

“Hey, Shitty. Can I talk to you for a minute? In private.” Dex rubbed the back of his neck and kept looking at the floor.

“Sure man. Come in and close the door.”

Dex shuffled inside his room and closed the door. 

“What did you want to talk about, little D-man?” Shitty lounged in his bed, thankfully wearing boxers, but Dex kept staring around the room anyway. Shitty watched as Dex crossed and uncrossed his arms, seemingly unable to relax. “Hey, are you trying to come out to me? Because if so, you can relax. It’s cool. I promise. One time 5 people came out to me in a week. I didn’t even know 3 of them.”

Dex finally stilled and looked at Shitty. “No. I mean, that’s good to know, I guess. But that’s not why I wanted to talk.” 

Shitty waited a bit but no more information seemed to be coming, so he figured he’d just chat until the Frog felt comfortable enough to get to the point. “I’m not sure why people come out to me all the time. Maybe I have a sign somewhere that says 'will validate and support all sexualities and gender identities.'"

Dex started to breathe a bit slower. “Do you think it might have to do with your major?”

“What does political science have to fucking do with people coming out to me?”

Half a laugh escaped Dex before he realized it. “I meant Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.”

“Oh, yeah. That makes some fucking sense.”

Dex made a “there you have it” gesture. 

“So, what brings you to my humble fucking abode?”

Dex sighed and then flopped into Shitty’s desk chair. “Nursey.”

“I thought you weren’t coming out to me.” Shitty chirped. and then noticed how still Dex went so hurriedly continued. “I’m not sure Derek fucking Nurse would count anyway. He’s just everyone’s exception, him and Ransom. But really, what about Nursey?”

“I told you, it’s not related to my sexuality, but if it matters that much, I’m bi.” Dex felt the irritation building and ran a hand through his hair. Irritation was familiar and it actually helped calm him down. “You went to Andover with Nursey, right? You both were boarders there.” 

“Yeah. I mean. I was a senior when he was just a freshman, just like here. But we knew each other there. Played hockey together that one year.”

“So, you have things in common with him. You understand where he’s coming from?”

“A little bit, man. Our families are pretty fucking different. But, I guess I understand where he’s coming from. Why?”

Dex looked back down and twisted his hands together before replying. “Could you help me? To understand Nursey? Where he’s coming from? Because I can’t figure him out.”

Shitty sat up in his bed. “Sometimes we don’t ever understand other people. Like fucking lax bros. There’s no understanding them. Sometimes people are just too different.”

“I’ve gotta try. He’s my d-man partner and….” Dex trailed off then took a deep breath. “I get irritated when I can’t figure things out. Like the dryer, how has it even been functioning this long? It’s a mystery and I hate mysteries that I can’t solve.”

“I get it. Nursey is a mystery.”

“Yeah.”

“And you want me to help you figure out the clues.”

“Something like that.”

“What if you still can’t figure him the fuck out?”

“Then, I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when I get there. Maybe I just distance myself off the ice. Maybe, maybe I transfer schools. I don’t know.” Dex slumped over, his head in his hand. He didn’t want to change schools. Against all his fears, Samwell was actually feeling like home, more accepting than home in some ways. But he knew if it came down to him or Nursey, the team would pick Nursey, and he couldn’t afford to stay without hockey.

“Sure thing, little bro. I’ll help you see things from another perspective. Widen your fucking world view.”

Dex felt the tension relax a little as he stood up. “Thanks Shitty.” He paused at the door. “Thanks,” he said again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a guy that's often naked, Shitty is easy to talk to.
> 
> Dex doesn't actually care who knows he's bi, he just also doesn't care to tell people that assume otherwise. He's mostly over his association with athletic teams and homophobia, at least intellectually.


	6. Fall 1.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are changing as the Frogs get settled in.

The second half of the semester was worse than the first, but they were in the nice lull, right before Thanksgiving, midterms were over and finals were in just a few weeks so nothing too major was assigned yet. Dex figured that would be the surprise as soon as they got back from the break. 

It was nice, just hanging out with the team, even Nursey was being less aggravating than usual. Probably because he was hooking up or something, but Dex refused to think about that. 

“Alright you fuckers! It’s time to see who the best duo are on the team! Teamwork! Strategy! Brotherhood! That is the name of the game today.” Shitty’s shout made the entire SMH team come to a stand still on River Quad. It was already weird to have them all together outside of Faber. 

Dex had thought they were just enjoying a nice day out since a couple of weeks ago it had been so cold that he and Nursey had been pressed into cuddling with Bitty to keep him warm. Folks from away were kind of wimps about the cold, but it had actually been kind of nice. 

Dex was so wrapped up thinking that he didn’t have a chance to call Bitty as his partner for the piggyback race. Luckily, Chowder was almost as light, so they were still in this race. 

When Shitty dropped his arms, Dex took off as fast as he could. Nursey beat him off the line, but Dex was pretty sure that he had more stamina and could overtake him. 

“Come on Dex! This is so ‘swawesome! We’re gaining on them!” Chowder was a great cheerleader, but rather loud. And right next to Dex’s ear.

Between the screaming in his ear, and frankly, focusing far too much on Nursey and Bitty, Dex doesn’t see the raised spot in the sidewalk and trips. The good news is, half the volleyball team is there to break their fall, and they are near the edge anyway, so at least he didn’t kill his best friend. The bad news is, half the volleyball team is there and Dex not only skins his hands and knees but knocks over a good portion of said volleyball team while trying not to kill his best friend. 

“Oh man, oh man, oh man. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to land on you. Are you okay? Please be okay.” Chowder’s voice reassured Dex that he was okay and Dex decided to just let himself sink into the ground. Until one of the women put a hand on his back and asked if he was ok.

“I’m fine, just dying from embarrassment. I’ll just sink into the earth now, if that’s ok.” He fucking tripped over the sidewalk. Even gawmy Nursey didn’t trip during the race. No, he was definitely just going to lay here forever, become one with the grass. Trampled and mostly dead, it understood him. 

“Yeah, that’s relatable. You should actually be proud though, that was a pretty spectacular wipe out. Just yell if you decide you want to get up and need help.” Then she was gone and he was left alone with his misery.

The rest of the hockey team came over to check on the volleyball team. Dex cursed himself for not getting up and doing that, but he was still pretty sure that his plan to live on the ground now was the best plan he’d ever had, so he stayed where he was. 

At least until Ransom and Holster came back around on their victory lap and dragged him back upright against his will. 

A few days later, Chowder announced that the woman he landed on had agreed to be his date for Winter Screw. Dex was finally slightly cheered. At least something good had come from it. The only thing that happens when Nursey is gawmy is someone ends up wearing his food. Usually that someone is Dex.

——————-

“Hey mom. Did you get the picture I sent?”

“Ayuh, Will. Are those your friends from the team?”

“Yeah, Chowder and Nursey. Chris is allowed to help Bitty a little, but mostly he only trusts me. It’s not going to be like home, but I didn’t want you to worry about me down here. Plenty of food, and even a pecan pie made by a Poindexter.”

“Oh, so that’s the wicked hot Nursey you were telling me about. Awful handsy on you.”

“Yeah, he likes to annoy me. I think he was trying to get me riled up and kicked out of the kitchen. He was bitter because he got kicked out after dropping an entire dozen eggs.”

“They seem like nice boys. But,” A deep sigh interrupted. “It’s just not the same not having you here. How can I even know that you’re eating good food? I don’t know anything about this Bitty.”

“Ma, his cooking is almost as good as yours, finest kind. I think he has a vlog, a video blog, about baking and stuff? Maybe you could find it and watch sometimes. Then you’d at least get to know what tips he thinks are good and have an idea if he knows what he’s talking about. Maybe if you’re able to come down for parent’s weekend you can meet him. I mean, he’s a bit of a rig, but I think you’ll love him as much as I do. Oh, uh hi Nursey. Mom, I gotta go, Nursey just walked in on me.”

“Wicked hot Nursey that likes to put his hands on you until you’re christly irritated and ready to pull-haul?”

“Yes, that Nursey. Seriously. I gotta go. I love you. Happy Thanksgiving. See you in a few weeks for Christmas.”

——————-

“Maybe if you’re able to come down for parent’s weekend you can meet him. I mean, he’s a bit of a rig, but I think you’ll love him as much as I do.” 

Nursey didn’t mean to eavesdrop, and once he heard Dex on the phone he fully intended to turn around and go back downstairs instead of continuing to eavesdrop or interrupt. Unfortunately, he was Nursey, so he stumbled into the door to Bitty’s room where Dex was trying to grab some privacy. The door wasn’t quite shut, so he ended up walking straight into the room. He tried to look innocent and waved.

“Oh uh, hi Nursey.” Dex waved back before returning to his call. “Mom, I gotta go. Nursey just walked in on me.” He paused. “Yes, that Nursey. Seriously. I gotta go. I love you. Happy Thanksgiving. See you in a few weeks for Christmas.”

Dex finally ended the call and put his phone back into a pocket. 

“Sorry to interrupt. Bitty sent me to round everyone up, everything’s ready and if we don’t hurry, it might all be gone.”

“Oh, thanks man. Just had to call my mom or she’s be upset, you know?”

“Yeah. Sure. Of course.” Nursey smiled and followed Dex back downstairs. 

After Bitty made everyone say what they were thankful for and the food was passed around, Nursey pulled his phone from his pocket under the table and opened a browser window to search what rig meant in Maine.

Someone with a flamboyant personality.

He looked over at Dex as he slid his phone back into his pocket. Did Dex think he was flamboyant? Wait, did Dex say he loved him?

—————-

After everyone had gotten their fill, most of the team retreated to dorms or somewhere else to sleep off the turkey, Dex didn’t feel like moving very far. Luckily, there was still space on the vile green couch and Jack had a football game on, so he settled down to fulfill some more “heteronormative masculine traditions”, as Shitty would call them. 

Truthfully, he’d just been excused from clean up because he’d actually helped Bitty make everything. He barely had the energy to roll his head over towards the kitchen when he heard the sound of glass breaking.

“Derek Malik Nurse! How can you forget you are holding a plate while you are are doing dishes? Get out of my kitchen. I am going to count to ten and you better be out of my kitchen before I turn around.” Dex shrugged and looked back at the tv. Bitty was almost as scary as his ma, but it wasn’t directed at him, so not his problem.

“Hey, budge over Dex. I’ll share the last slice of cherry pie that I managed to swipe on my way out of the kitchen.” 

“I’m full. Find your own place to sit.” 

Nursey was suddenly leaning over the couch by his head. “Come on, let me sit there, everywhere else is taken. Oh shit.” 

Dex didn’t have to ask what the oh shit was for because the cherry pie filling was sliding down his cheek. “What the fuck Nursey?” 

And then Nursey was on his lap and licking his cheek. “Not to worry, bro! I got your back.”

Dex shoved at Nursey. “Get off me. What are you, twelve?” Dex stood up as Nursey stumbled away. “Fine, take the stupid couch.” He wiped at his cheek and headed towards the bathroom. 

He washed his cheek while muttering about how disgusting that was and once it was clean and dry he looked in the mirror. “Fuck.” He pressed his forehead against the cool mirror. “Fuck. I’ve got a crush on the hottest guy at Samwell. As if my self esteem could be any lower. And now I’m talking to myself.” Dex pushed himself roughly away from the mirror and left the bathroom.

——————-

Dex stood outside Nursey’s dorm, telling himself to just knock. Sure, Nursey left the kegster the night before with some guy from the rugby team. But he hadn’t taken his coat and it had been snowing, and d-man partners check up on each other and make sure they got home alright, right? Perfectly normal for him to be here. He was definitely not just making sure Nursey had gone back to his own dorm. 

He leaned his head against the wall by the door. “It’s perfectly normal Dex.” 

“Ooooh. Oh god. Oh my god.” Ok, moaning and some loud bangs from Nursey’s dorm, looks like Nursey made it back just fine, with company, which means Dex was not needed. It took approximately ten seconds for Dex to push his way out of the front doors of the dorm hall. 

“Numb. Dub. Wicked stupid. What was I thinking?” He was so busy beating himself up while walking across the quad that he almost didn’t notice his phone vibrating in his pocket. 

WHG: hep me. Nyqui. Wster. Or kil me, dat worx 2.

Dex blinked at his phone, ignoring the people flowing around him. Did he completely misread what he’d heard? Fuck.

“Hey Chowder? Do you have any Nyquil? Can you go to Murder Stop & Shop and get some and meet me at the Haus or Nursey’s dorm? Nursey’s sick and I’m gonna get Bitty to make him some chicken soup like he made me that first week.”

Not even a week after Thanksgiving, Nursey got sick. Dex kicked at a clump of snow while speed walking towards the Haus. And Dex can’t even chirp him for it because he’s sick. Dammit, that guy better have been worth it and Nursey was fucking lucky everyone else was too schwasted to notice who he left with. Or maybe that was his plan for how to come out to the team. Just hook up with some guy at a kegster. 

Dex thought about hooking up with someone at a kegster then just calmly telling the guys when they asked the next day. “Oh yeah. I’m bi. Thought you knew.” Unfortunately, the someone his brain supplied was Nursey. 

“Fuck.” Luckily he arrived at the Haus and could focus on getting Bitty to Nursey’s dorm and getting Nursey help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell at me on tumblr, [sexydexynurse](sexydexynurse.tumblr.com)
> 
> My usual Maine source has been super busy, so I may end up editing the Mainer parts when he's available again.


	7. Winter Screw and Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dex showed up at Nursey’s room at a perfectly respectable 1 pm after Winter Screw. Nursey appreciated that. Though why he was even here, Nursey couldn’t say. Maybe Lilah’s room was in this hall as well. That would make sense. Leave her place, stop by to say hey to Nursey. Rub it in. That was unfair, Dex wouldn’t necessarily realize he was rubbing it in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lukutoukka and b_frizzy for the betas.
> 
> At first I had Winter Screw and Finals separated, but I decided they were both short enough to be put together.

Dex showed up at Nursey’s room at a perfectly respectable 1 pm after Winter Screw. Nursey appreciated that. Though why he was even here, Nursey couldn’t say. Maybe Lilah’s room was in this hall as well. That would make sense. Leave her place, stop by to say hey to Nursey. Rub it in. That was unfair, Dex wouldn’t necessarily realize he was rubbing it in. 

“Uh, Nurse? Can I come in, or is your date still here or something? If so, I’ll just go. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Apparently, he’d been standing and staring at Dex too long and it was awkward. “Oh, yeah, come on in. You want some juice or something?”

“Uh, sure. Just wanted to check on you. We didn’t see you after Screw.” 

“I walked Tiffany to her dorm and decided to just get to bed myself, you know. Didn’t figure anyone would be waiting up for me.” Nursey pulled a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and poured two glasses. He handed one to Dex and then went over and sat on his bed. “What do you mean, you didn’t see me after Screw? I figured you’d be taking Lilah back to hers or yours or whatever.”

“Nah, we said goodbye at Screw. She had friends there to walk back with.” Dex sat on the couch heavily. 

“Really? I figured she was your new girlfriend. Or at least that you were wheeling her.”

“Nah. She’s be awesome as a girlfriend, she’s wicked cunning for sure. But she’s not really my type.”

“What do you mean Lilah isn’t your type? She’s cute, she’s funny, she gorgeous, she’s athletic, she likes fixing stuff and playing guitar and that other crap you do. You have a lot in common.” 

 

“Yep. Many things in common.”

 

“So, she’s perfect for you. Ask her out again.” Nursey couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, but Dex was seriously not making sense.

 

“She’s still not my type.”

 

“Wh-what about her isn’t your type?”

 

“The part where she isn’t attracted to guys. She’s a lesbian, dude. I try not to hit on people that aren’t at least attracted to my general gender.”

 

“Then why’d y’all go to Screw together? Did she tell you she’s a lesbian?”

 

Dex’s mouth twisted into a half smile. “Chill, I knew. She’s dating Farmer, that was a big clue.” Dex sat his glass down on a table and laid down across the couch.

 

“Wait, Caitlin Farmer? C’s date?”

 

“Yeah, apparently C asked her to the dance first before Farmer and Lilah started dating, so Lilah and I went as friends.”

 

“Farmer’s ditching C for a girl? She should have told him she was a lesbian, not led him on. That’s very unchill.” Nursey felt his forehead furrowing. It was seriously wrong for Farmer to do that to Chowder. Chowder‘s awesome and deserves the very best.

 

“Oh my god, Nurse. She’s bi. She’s dating Lilah. She’s dating C. Lilah and C are friends. You’re from New York City and you’ve never heard of polyamory?” 

“Oh. C’s ok with it?” Nursey tossed back the rest of his juice and reached over to set the cup on his desk. “Why would he tell you and not me?”

“Yeah. I’m actually kinda surprised that Chris hasn’t talked to you about it. Maybe it’s just ‘cause Lilah and I kinda met that day when we ran into the volleyball team. She checked on me while I was laying on the ground.” 

Nursey didn’t know what to say so he just laid down on the bed. They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Dex wasn’t going to date Lilah, the perfect, petite, cute volleyball player.

“I was worried Tiffany would still be here. Didn’t want to interrupt anything.” Dex just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Nursey’d thought they’d been having a moment. 

“Oh really, Opie? We went over this a month ago. I’m not into women sexually. Lots of people have a Winter Screw date that’s just for the one date. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” 

“Oh, right, right. I knew that. I forgot I guess.” 

The silence closed in again. It was nice. Until Dex broke it again. 

“Bitty offered to kill you for me once.” 

Nursey propped himself up on an elbow and looked over at Dex. He’d twisted around so his head was hanging over the edge of the couch. 

“What? Why? I thought he love me best.” He paused. “After Chowder.”

“‘Cause I told him I needed peace to fix Betsy.”

Yeah, that was fair. Except. “Then why am I still alive?” Bitty would do anything to protect Betsy.

“I told him to just keep you out of the kitchen.” Dex lifted a hand up in the air then let it drop. “Every day I regret that decision.”

Nursey snorted. “Thanks bro. Way to have my back.” 

“Anytime.” Dex groaned and shifted around. “I guess I should get off my ass and get out. Leave you to,” He gestured around the room, “whatever you do on your weekends when we don’t have a game. Study I guess? Finals next week. Fuck. I gotta study.”

Nursey considered telling him to stay, but Dex was walking out the door before he could find the words.

—————

Finals were eating Dex alive. He was pretty sure he’d passed his math and stats final, but he still had two more exams plus the final project for his comp sci class that was worth 35% of his grade. And of course, the code wasn’t working. 

Unfortunately for him, he’d headed over to the Haus to work on the project at the exact wrong time. 

'Cause you're too sexy beautiful  
And everybody want to taste, that’s why (that’s why)  
I still get jealous  
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful  
And everybody want to taste, that’s why (that’s why)  
I still get jealous

“Why is Holster singing to Ransom about how sexy and beautiful he is at 2 pm on a Wednesday?” Dex drops his bag on the kitchen table and sinks into a chair. 

“Um, study break matinee?” Bitty flashed a strained smile before turning back to Jack. “No, not like that, gently.”

Nursey slid into the seat across from him. “Would you ever sing to me?”

“No.” Dex is pretty sure that’s the last thing he would ever do.

“You’d totally sing to me.” Nursey grinned and Dex considered the ramifications of punching him in Bitty’s kitchen. 

“I can’t work with this. Fuck. I’d planned to work on my project, and try to get ideas for the Secret Santa.” Dex put his head on his bag and covered it with his arms.

“Hey, let’s get some d-man bonding in. Go get some food. I’ll even get you some crunch wraps.”

“That would be great, but I’m right out straight. I gotta get this code working. Looks like I’m heading to Founders or the Engineering computer labs.” Dex dragged himself back upright to try to find some peace.

—————

Nursey watched Dex leave. He couldn’t move. After several minutes, he shakily got to his feet, took a few breaths, and felt the chill descend over him like a wave. 

He left the Haus without thinking, and eventually found himself at the door to Chowder’s dorm. 

“Hey Nursey! What are you doing here? Did we have a study break scheduled? I was just working on some code, but I can take a break if you need to.” This is why he came to Chowder. Chowder understands. Chowder takes time.

“He no homo’d me, C. Like he thought I was asking him out or something. I just offered to get food, I didn’t freaking propose marriage or anything.” It only took a few minutes for Nursey to be installed on Chowder’s bed, hugging the giant stuffed shark while Chowder was working away at his desk.

“Um, wow. That’s weird. What exactly happened?”

“I said we should go get some food, I even offered to take him to Taco Hell because he’d mentioned craving crunch wraps a few weeks ago. You know I hate that shit. But, you know, d-man bonding. And I pulled his name for Secret Santa so I wanted to try to get an idea of what to get him.”

“Okay. That’s not bad. What did he say?”

“He said he was straight and then said he had to get his comp sci code done and ran off to Founders or the Engineering building or someplace.”

“He said he was straight? That’s weird.”

“Right? There was like no chill. Just “I’m right out straight” and then running away.”

“Oh, I get it. Ok. Yeah. He’s probably really busy. This code is worth 35% of our grade. If he still has a lot of errors then he must be really stressed. He doesn’t have a Sharkie like I do, or even a rubber duckie like most programmers. So, he’s having to review the code all on his own.”

“Could you repeat that in English?”

“Um, so like, when you’re working on code, but it’s not working? You’ve been staring at it for hours and you can’t find where you messed up? But you are getting errors, so you definitely messed it up? It helps to explain the code to someone that doesn’t ask any questions, preferrably an inanimate object because they don’t judge us. Rubber Duckies are pretty standard, though any figure will do I guess. I use Sharkie.”

“Ok. And Dex doesn’t have a rubber duck?”

“Not to my knowledge! He should probably get one. I think he’s planning to make computer engineering his major, so he’ll have a lot more classes like this. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do, but maybe not computer science.”

“And what was the point of the no homo?”

“Um, I don’t actually know what you’re talking about there.” Chowder shrugged. “Sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The curse of understanding Mainer but not speaking it. Chowder knows what Dex meant.
> 
> Also, I really love Lilah, just so you know.
> 
> If you want to talk to me about this fic or anything NurseyDex or Check please related, hit me up at [SexyDexyNurse.](sexydexynurse.tumblr.com)
> 
> as per usual, not my characters (except Lilah and the mysterious Tiffany), not my world, all belong to Ngozi.


	8. Epikegster 2014

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a lot of ways, Epikegster 2014 was just like every other kegster that Dex had been to thus far in his Samwell career. 
> 
> In a lot of ways, Epikegster 2014 was completely different from every other kegster that Dex had been to thus far in his Samwell career.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lukutoukka and b_frizzy for the betas.
> 
> This chapter is a bit canon divergent.

In a lot of ways, Epikegster 2014 was just like every other kegster that Dex had been to thus far in his Samwell career. The tub juice was potent and potentially toxic. The music was loud and the house was crowded with sweaty drunk people yelling. Lardo was kicking everyone’s ass at pong and flip cup. Chowder was impressing people by doing the splits in the backyard. Nursey was drinking and dancing with anyone that was willing. Ransom and Holster were alternating between wheeling and blurring the line between romance and bromance.

In a lot of ways, Epikegster 2014 was completely different from every other kegster that Dex had been to thus far in his Samwell career. There were more people in the Haus than Dex had ever seen, probably more than attended Samwell. Jack Zimmermann actually came down and took selfies with Bitty. And Kent Parson, NHL player that went first in the draft when Jack should have, showed up. 

Dex wasn’t necessarily holding the draft thing against Kent. Except that if he was honest with himself, he was. Kent wasn’t near the player that Jack was, he wasn’t near the person Jack was. And frankly, Dex had seen how Jack’s eyes tightened whenever someone had an Ace’s game on or mentioned Kent. 

Dex was conflicted. Jack was his captain and deserved his loyalty, but Kent was an NHL player. Not like a Bruin or anything, but still. Kent was cocky and definitely thought his shit didn’t stink, but he did talk to everyone and take selfies with everyone and lost to Lardo in pong like everyone, and really, it was just difficult to figure out. 

After awhile, Dex lost track of both Kent and Jack and he decided that maybe that was better. He could focus on worrying about Nursey and Chowder. Especially since Chowder was trying to follow Ransom and Holster up to the attic while they were trying to wheel members of the volleyball team with information about some fanfics. Dex had to grab his hoodie to physically restrain him. 

Even then, Dex could have taken Epikegster in stride. Things were calming back down after Kent disappeared, Chowder was safely glued to Farmer’s side, Nursey was back to dancing in a way that shouldn’t be possible for a big gawpy dub. Apparently, after a couple of glasses of tub juice it didn’t matter that he forgot he had hands and feet. 

It was late, but the party wasn’t showing signs of slowing down, when Dex heard the opening chords to The Flame and suddenly Holster was singing karaoke at Ransom. Maybe it was to one of the volleyball girls, they were all standing pretty close together. 

Wherever you go, I'll be with you  
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you  
Whenever you need someone  
To lay your heart and head upon  
Remember, after the fire, after all the rain  
I will be the flame  
I will be the flame

In the days and weeks to come, Dex would blame it on how long the kegster lasted. He’d been slowly sipping beer while keeping an eye on everyone, but that eventually ended up meaning he’d had a lot of beer and nothing else in his stomach for hours. He’d also blame it on Lardo, but he started doing that pretty much right away. 

Because after a few more people made a horrible mockery of music with the karaoke machine, Lardo pushed Dex over and plopped a microphone in his hand. He couldn’t blame her for the song selection, so he chalked that up to the beer as well. The beer that kept reminding him how he didn’t fit in when everyone else did so well.

When you were here before  
Couldn't look you in the eye  
You're just like an angel  
Your skin makes me cry  
You float like a feather  
In a beautiful world  
And I wish I was special  
You're so fuckin' special  
Dex knew where his teammates had been before he was pushed into singing. He knew were a safe spot was to stare, allowing his vision to blur out. The fact that his eyes weren’t focused on anything wouldn’t matter if it looked like he was singing to Nursey. He told Nursey that he wouldn’t sing to him, and he wouldn’t.

But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.  
What the hell am I doing here?  
I don't belong here.  
I don't care if it hurts  
I want to have control  
I want a perfect body  
I want a perfect soul  
I want you to notice  
When I'm not around  
You're so fuckin' special  
I wish I was special  
But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.  
What the hell am I doing here?  
I don't belong here.

As Dex started singing the part about running, he realized that’s exactly what he needed to do. Not yet, obviously, everyone was watching him. Let the next poor bastard take the focus off and then get away from the Haus. Why did he think it was his job to watch over the team anyway? They were grown men. They didn’t need him to babysit.

Whatever makes you happy  
Whatever you want  
You're so fuckin' special  
I wish I was special  
But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo,  
What the hell am I doing here?  
I don't belong here.  
I don't belong here.

 

Yeah, that was definitely too much to put out there at a kegster. Lardo and beer, they can’t be trusted. They are not bros.

Dex honestly wasn’t sure what happened after he stopped singing. He thrust the microphone back at Lardo and pushed through the crowd. After a few minutes someone else started singing, a woman’s voice. He didn’t care. He just had to get out of the Haus and back to his dorm.

————

Nursey had been having a great time. Lardo, Ransom and Holster had decided to start training him in flip cup and pong, he’d danced with over a hundred people, and he’d met Kent fucking Parson. 

Then the karaoke started. After Holster it went downhill and was starting to ruin his chill, then Dex got up to sing. At first Nursey thought Dex was finally going to sing to him. But then he started singing Creep and staring at some girl. 

Seriously Dex. Singing a song about stalking a woman to a woman? That’s messed up all kinds of ways. Nursey didn’t think that even Dex could be that clueless. He tried to find him to talk, but Dex seemed to have disappeared, but so did the woman, so maybe it worked for some weird reason. 

That’s approximately when Nursey started slamming back tub juice and things started getting fuzzy. He had a high tolerance for beer and liquor but tub juice was something else.

————

Dex had been asleep for only a couple of hours when his phone woke him up. Chowder, Ransom, Holster, and Lardo were blowing it up. 

Chow: Have you seen Nursey?  
Ransom: Yo Dex, Nursey with you?  
Holster: We can’t find Nursey.  
Lardo: Answer your fucking phone when I call you.

Before he could respond, his phone started ringing again, a shark image splashing across the screen, and he answered. 

“Dex! Is Nursey with you? We can’t find him.”

“Why would he be with me? He probably left with one of his fan club.”

“He’s not answering Dex. I’m really worried. Help us look for him. Please?”

“He’s a grown man, Chris. I really don’t want to interrupt him while he’s wheeling.”

“Pleeeeease.”

“Ugh. Ok. Yeah. I’ll help you look for him.”

Dex scrubbed his face trying to wake up fully. Where would he even look for Nursey? Surely they’ve already checked his dorm and all the likely places. He rolled out of bed and started pulling on clothes while thinking. 

Then he was dressed and still had no clue where to look. It was 5 am. Everything was closed. Even Taco Bell didn’t stay open all night in this little town. 

“Fuck it. Might as well check.”

Fifteen minutes later he hit the group chat.

Me: Got Nursey. I’ll get him home. He’s fine.  
Chow: OMG Where was he!  
Me: He probably wouldn’t want me to say.  
Me: ….  
Me: Curled up in the drive through at Taco Bell.

Dex kneeled down and shook Nursey’s shoulder. “Hey man. Come on. You can’t sleep out here. It’s freezing. You’re from away, you can’t handle it.”

At first he didn’t think it worked, but then Nursey’s eyes cracked open. “Fuck you. I can, I can handle the cold.”

“Yeah, ok. That why you’re shivering on the ground? If you could really handle it, you’d stand up and walk to your dorm with me.” Dex pulled his coat off and wrapped it around Nursey, slowly getting him to his feet through physical and chirping means. 

They were half way back to campus when Nursey turned and looked at Dex, which was a bit awkward since he was already leaning heavily on him. “Where are you taking me?” 

Dex actually paused. If he took him back to Nursey’s room, he’d have to get the key out of the pocket of Nursey’s pants. But his dorm only had an XL twin bed, and there’s no way he was planning to share a bed with Nursey. “We’re going back to your place. Remember?”

“Oh yeah. You just want to get me alone in my dorm. That’s ok. You gave me your coat, I know you’re a gentleman.”

Dex sighed. “Yeah, that’s right Nursey. Come on.” 

 

“Ok Nursey. Do you have your keys?” Dex helped Nursey lean against the wall outside his dorm and really hoped he was cognizant enough to get the keys out himself. 

“Um, I think so. But, why don’t you just use the spare?”

Dex closed his eyes and counted to five. “What spare?” 

“I kept losing my key, or forgetting it, so I put a spare on the top of the door frame. No one ever looks up there.”

Dex closed his eyes and counted to twenty. “Ok. You’re not leaving a key there anymore, but I’m glad it’s there now.” He retrieved the key and somehow managed to steer Nursey over to the bed and get him into a suitable recovery position so that he wouldn’t accidentally kill himself in his sleep. 

The thought of removing any of Nursey’s clothes to make him more comfortable made Dex’s brain freeze up, so he just left him in all the clothes, including Dex’s coat, then he dropped onto the couch, just in case he was needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Creep was written about Thom Yorke following a girl around while drunk, which Nursey reads as stalking. Various members of Radiohead have given other meanings to it as well over the years.
> 
> *In canon, Nursey wakes up at the Haus having slept on the floor of the hall by the stairs. 
> 
> *You can't prove the karaoke didn't happen though.
> 
> *Unless you're Ngozi, since these are her characters and her world
> 
> *But even then, it's just "word of god" right?
> 
> *What's a god to a fanfic writer?
> 
> *Holster knows what I'm talking about. (he definitely wrote some fic)
> 
> Anywho, kudus and comments make my day, and you can also hmu on tumblr to bug me about making sure I keep ahead on the writing so there aren't any more long breaks, find me @ [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/).


	9. Secret Santas and Holiday Helpers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Epikegster, it's almost time to go home for the short winter break. But first, a gift exchange and some light felonious activities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka) and [B_Frizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_frizzy) for being my betas.

Bitty waited two days after the kegster to complain about all the frogs being in the Swallow. Chowder was beaming because he was in it for his “‘swawesome” splits. Dex was less thrilled about the photo of him singing, or the photo of Nursey dancing indiscriminately. He took scissors to the issue. 

The day after Bitty yelled at them in the kitchen was the team gift exchange. That’s really the only reason that Dex had gone over to the Haus in the first place, trying to sneak the gift in without being seen. Bitty insisted that was part of the fun, having to guess who gave them the gift. 

So, tucked beside his laptop was a wrapped gift that he’d planned to pull out and toss under the tree when no one was looking. Unfortunately, Bitty had grabbed him before he could. 

Really, it was perfectly reasonable that at 3 AM Dex was breaking into the Haus, picking the lock on the back door. If he didn’t notice other people hiding in shadows, well, that’s because his lock picking skills were usually related to working his uncle’s hardware store, not committing felonies. 

He slipped through the door and into the dark interior and crept along close to the walls towards the front room and the tree. He was almost there when he heard a loud thump and a muffled exclamation. He hurriedly dropped the present into the pile and headed towards the noise. 

“Nursey?”

“Ow.” Nursey just groaned at him in response.

“Dex! How’d you learn to do that?” Chowder’s whispered exclamations carried.

“Shh. Just, get your presents to the pile and let’s go.” Dex rolled his eyes as Chowder headed off. He couldn’t believe they’d followed him. Actually, he could.

“Nursey, that means you, too.” 

Nursey groaned a bit more but finally rolled over and crawled the rest of the way over. Somehow, everyone managed to get out of the Haus without waking any of the residents.

Once they were back on the quad Dex rounded on the other two frogs. “I can’t believe you two followed me!”

“Chill man. We only followed you into the Haus. We were already there trying to find a way in when you showed up and opened a way in.” Nursey slung an arm over Dex’s shoulders, but he shrugged it off.

“How’d you learn to do that Dex? That was so cool!” Chowder bounced a bit next to him. Dex figured he must be hopped up on adrenaline still, so he cut him some slack. 

“I’ve told you guys before that I used to work in my uncle’s hardware shop after school and stuff. He offered locksmithing services, which includes opening locks when people lock themselves out.” Dex shrugged again. “Whatever. I’m gonna get some more sleep. See you guys when it’s actually morning.”

—————

Nursey watched Dex stalk away and tried not to feel abandoned. They’d just broken into the Haus together! Ok, Dex had done most of the hard work. But they’d all been in danger of being caught. 

A grin stretched over his face again and he slung his arm around Chowder. “Hey, wanna hang out at my dorm and watch some old Perry Mason?”

“Um, sure! What’s it about?”

“It’s about a lawyer who stands up for the little guys and makes sure people don’t get railroaded by the system. Like if Shitty didn’t have a magnificent flow and porn ‘stache and was actually an upstanding member of society.”

“Sure!”

 

The alarm on his phone is rude and annoying, so Nursey reaches over to slap at it until it stops yelling before curling back into the warm comfort of his bed. He nuzzled back against the warm body behind him and pulled the arm over his waist tighter. Nursey faintly wondered who he was pressing back against but he let the thought go. When life gives you a snuggle buddy, you snuggle. Don’t look a gift cuddle buddy in the mouth, that was Nursey’s motto.

Unfortunately, he’d only hit snooze on his alarm, so nine minutes later it started yelling again. This time the warmth behind him started moving before he could get it to shut up.

“Time’sit?” Chowder’s voice was slurred with sleep, but Nursey didn’t have a chance to reply before he rolled over and padded towards the bathroom. 

Grumbling quietly about goalies that abandon their teammates to the cold, Nursey actually opened his eyes enough to look at his phone and see the alarm was titled “Secret Santa”. “Shit. I actually have to get up.”

By the time Chowder returned from the bathroom, Nursey’d actually managed to swing into a sitting position and retrieve some clean clothes. He shuffled into the bathroom and scrubbed his face, foregoing the shower portion of his normal routine, no time to take care of his hair properly.

They were the last to get to the Haus, so there was limited space around the tree. Chowder was able to squeeze into a spot on the couch, but Nursey ended up on the floor leaning against Dex’s legs. 

Bitty walked in with plates piled high with cookies and passed them around. 

“Ok! Is everyone ready to see what their Holiday Helper got them?” He beamed at everyone.

Holster groaned. “Bitty, just call it Secret Santa. I told you. My family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas.”

“Well, it’s best to be inclusive anyway.” Bitty waved a hand and turned towards the tree. “Ok, let’s see who is going first. Remember, you get one guess who your Helper was. If you are correctly guessed as the Helper, you have to fess up. If you don’t guess correctly, then you just have to suffer.” He stopped to giggle. “But there will be consolation pie.”

He clapped. “Ok, let’s see who goes first, shall we!” Bitty plopped down on the ground and made a show of picking which gift to pass out first. “Hm, let’s go with this one! Tag says… Nursey!”

He passed the gift over and Nursey made a show of carefully easing the tape off.

“Come on, Nurse. Rip and tear. Rip and tear.” Dex kneed him in the back and Nursey gasped.

“This is nice paper, Mayberry. Maybe you heathens in Maine just rip into fancy things. But in New York City we appreciate the finer things in life.” He turned to glare at several snorts from other team members. “Fine.” Nursey finally started pulling the paper off at a pace that didn’t have his teammates chirping him.

“Huh. The Book of Life: Selected Jewish Poems. By Alicia Ostriker. Chill.” He thumbed through book idly. “I don’t think I’ve read these.”

“Well,” Bitty drew the word out long. “Who do you think your Helper is?”

Nursey looked around the room. “Hmm. Holster would be the obvious pick.” He paused and a smile spread across his face. “Which means it’s wrong.”

Dex snorted behind him. “Ok, Poirot. Just make your guess.”

Nursey stared at Dex for a long time. Could Dex be his Secret Santa, or Holiday Helper? He glanced over at Bitty. It was just the sort of thing that Bitty would find amusing. And Dex had been in his room and would at least be able to guess what books of poetry he already had and how his taste ran. 

But would that mean the only reason Dex had come over the last few weeks was to stake out his bookshelves? There was suddenly a sour taste in his mouth and he swallowed hard.

“I guess, Ransom.” He looked over expectantly.

Ransom spread his hands. “I wish I’d be that sneaky, but no. I am not your Holiday Helper.”

Nursey shrugged and turned back to the tree. “Ok, who’s next, Bits?”

—————

Dex thought he saw Jack smile into a cup of cocoa when Nursey guessed Ransom, but then his focus was shattered as Nursey turned and settled in more comfortably against his legs. Of course, pretty little rich boy feels entitled to just lounge all over a guy.

It made it really difficult to concentrate as people opened gifts and made their guesses. By the time a present with his name was passed over, he wasn’t sure who had been correctly guessed already. 

Fuck. He pulled the paper off and stared down at the gift. “It’s… a rubber frog?” He pulled it out more fully and turned the package around. “Celebriducks custom figure. Um. Ok.” The frog was wearing Samwell hockey gear and about the size of a basketball. The front of the box declared it’s name was Croakey.

Dex looked around and his gaze settled on Chowder. “Wait, is this related to that story about coders explaining their code to rubber ducks?”

Nursey moved against his legs again and distracted Dex from looking around more. 

“I guess Chowder.”

“Um, no. That’s a ‘swawesome gift. But it wasn’t me. I was Wicky’s Helper. Remember?” 

Dex looked over at Wicky and noticed that he was now wearing a Sharks hat. 

“Oh, uh. I must have zoned out for a bit.” Dex turned back around and stared at the frog as the chirps started. What a numb thing to do, guessing someone that had already been tagged correctly. Sometimes, Dex thought, sometimes he was a dub.

Bitty clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention again. “Well, I guess that just leaves me.”

“Hey, leaving yourself for last to knock out how many people could be your Helper? Sneaky, Bits, sneaky.”

Bitty smiled serenely. “What? You think I would purposefully leave myself to last? My present just happened to be the furthest away. That’s all.” 

Dex’s eyes narrowed. Bitty was correct, his present was all the way in the corner, and nowhere near where Dex had dropped it at 3 AM. 

Bitty made short work of the wrapping. “Oh my god, y’all. Look. A cutting board. Wooden spoons. A rolling pin. All tooled and carved with my name. Oh these are gorgeous.” 

“Wait, that’s a rolling pin? It’s just a stick.” Nursey poked the end of the item in question.

“Derek Nurse. That is a French style rolling pin, and it is beautiful. Gives better control and handling. I’ve been meaning to get one, but it just keeps slipping my mind.” 

“Ok, ok. Stop drooling on them and tell us your guess.” Holster’s chirp drew return fire in the form of balled up wrapping paper. 

“Well, I’m privileged enough to know that a certain Frog has a grandfather that is a carpenter and is pretty good with his hands himself, so I’m going to guess Dex is my Holiday Helper.” He beamed at Dex.

Dex acknowledged the guess with a shrug. “You got me.”

The rest of the day was a flurry of joviality, food, and people saying goodbyes as they left for winter break. 

Nursey and Chowder dropped Dex at his bus before heading to the airport. They waited until his bus pulled out and he waved from his seat, Chowder waving enthusiastically back and Nursey with just a casual hand lifted. Then they faded away and he was on his way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I'll be able to continue updating once a week, but I've almost caught up to where I've written, so we will see. 
> 
> This concludes the Frog's first semester at Samwell. They all survived!
> 
> Yell, laugh, cry, or cheer at me on Tumblr at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/)


	10. Back to Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter Break is over and the Frogs are ready to start their first spring semester at Samwell. New class choices must be made, but Chowder doesn't want to take another comp sci course with Dex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [B_Frizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_frizzy), [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka), and Theo for the beta read through and for letting me yell about this.

“You miss me, Poindexter?”

Dex looked up as Nursey plopped down next to him. “No.” He looked back down at his laptop where he was making notes about the course offerings this term.

“You’re always free to skype me.”

“Yeah, I don’t really see that ever happening.” Dex copied some notes into his excel sheet. “Hey Chowder, which comp sci class are you taking this term? Intro to GUI or Intro to IT?”

“Oh! Um, I’m not going to take another comp sci course this spring.”

Dex looked up. “Won’t you get behind on the program? There are prerequisites for the upper level courses and you can’t take them concurrently.”

“I’m not set on a CS major yet?” Chowder smiled, but his eyebrows were in the worried configuration. 

Dex wanted to make the eyebrows happy, he couldn’t bear the worried brows. “Oh, that makes sense. You can always get the core classes out of the way while you think about it.”

“How come you never ask me to take classes with you, Mayberry?”

Dex blinked at Nursey. “I thought you were more of a poetry guy.”

He felt Nursey’s shrug as much as saw it. “So, take Intro to Poetry with me. Like you told C, get some core shit out of the way.”

“You’re taking Intro to Poetry?”

“Yeah, poetry guy, remember?”

“But why not Poetry of the African Diaspora in the Middle Ages or Comparative Analysis of Women Poets of the Yuan Dynasty or something like that?”

“Chill bro. English majors have prerequisites too.”

“Wait, you mean those are actual classes? I just made up some pretentious sounding shit. Fuck Nurse.”

Nursey stretched his arm around Dex’s shoulders, grinning. “Welcome to Samwell, Opie.”

————

Nursey didn’t expect Dex to actually agree to take the class with him. But here he was, sitting in an Intro to Poetry class shoulder to shoulder with his d-man partner. He made a mental note, Dex will call his bluffs. 

Dex was also distracting. Seriously, who takes notes on syllabus day? But there he was, writing and highlighting. Pausing occasionally to drink from a fast food cup he kept on the ground by his feet. 

All of this would be fine. Really. Nursey could overlook it. But he was wearing a really soft looking sweater that was tight around his chest and arms and a really lovely soft buttery yellow color. If questioned, Nursey would swear he only cared about the damn sweater because he used to have one just like it. Until he spilled coffee on the sleeve. Then he’d donated it to the local Savers. 

Finally, class ended and everyone rushed out.

“Wow, Poindexter. Real studious with the notes, huh? Didn’t realize you were such a nerd.” Nursey didn’t actually have a lot to put up since he hadn’t been taking notes, but he moved slowly to wait for Dex.

“What’s wrong, Nurse? Worried that you’ll actually have competition in this class?” Dex looked up from where he was bent over his bag and smiled.

Nursey returned the smile and leaned down to get his own bag. Dex twisted to grab the last of his pens off the desk and Nursey saw his far arm clearly for the first time, noticing a faint stain near the cuff. Maybe he wasn’t the only one that spilled their coffee. “Nah. I’m not worried about you.” 

“You sure stare a lot for someone that’s not worried.” Dex’s voice snaps Nursey’s eyes back to his face. 

“Just noticing your nice threads. That’s a really sweet sweater. I used to have a similar one. Is that Angora? It’s that a bit soft for you?” Nursey watched the blush creep down Dex’s neck and gave himself some point on his internal score that he was keeping.

“Yeah. Probably too soft for me. But I got a good deal on it. Thought it would be nice to have a few nice items, you know?” Dex stood up and shouldered his bag. “I gotta go. See you at practice.” 

And then Dex was gone. 

———

Dex slowed when he got out of the English building, taking deep breaths. He had an hour before the Samwell Catholic Association meeting, and then the Student Council mixer was after that, so he needed to get to his dorm to clear some space in his bag to stash food. 

He paused and rubbed his thumb over the soft wool of his sweater. It had been an amazing find for $5 with only a small stain that he was able to mostly get out. Normally, he wouldn’t have given it a second look, but angora at those prices just doesn’t happen.

And his Ma was always harping about how much she loved him in buttercream yellow. “It looks so nice with your hair and eyes, Billy. You know I always loved you in that color. You wear too many dark colors.” 

Well, it was apparently fancy enough for Nursey to have had something similar, so it should be fancy enough to make the Catholics and Student Council think he belonged. 

He really hoped they’d give out a schedule with which of their meetings would include refreshments.

Hobnobbing like this always made him feel like Nobby Nobbs pretending to be an earl. The Association of Floral Designers meeting next week should be a lot more relaxed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've caught up with my prewritten portions which means I can't guarantee the next update will be next Monday, but I'll try.


	11. First Goal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dex has to plan his schedule for the semester and decides to work on it before his polisci class. Then he has to spend some d-man bonding time with Nursey. 
> 
> If you make a bet, make sure you set the terms before agreeing to the bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka), you beautiful tropical fish.

Dex looked up from his year planner calendar as Lilah’s bag fell against his feet and she plopped into the seat beside him. 

“Whatcha got there, William?” Lilah leaned over his arm to see his calendar.

“Just marking out when the various clubs have meetings that are likely to have food. Color coding based on the quality of the options. Pink for no vegetarian options, blue for ones that have non perishable stuff like individual chip packs. Stuff like that.”

“Huh. Do you know if any of them tend to have halal options?” She was leaning over his arm to look at the calendar and Dex sat back and blinked.

“Um. Well. Honestly, I’m not 100% on what makes something halal or not. The yellow ones are ones that I’m pretty sure had kosher options. If I had to guess, I’d suspect them of being the most likely to also have halal options. But I can’t make any guarantees.” Dex winced apologetically. “Also, last term the SAIFD had a pretty good variety of options including non perishable stuff. Their first meeting is tonight but I’m going to miss it.”

“SAIFD?” Lilah had moved back and pulled out her own supplies.

“Student something something Floral Design. I don’t know. I like them because of the packaged non perishable stuff. Keeps well. Also, it’s just nice to hang out with people working with flowers even if they are all kind of weird artistic types.” 

“Can I copy the schedule and share with some of the other girls on the team?” Lilah pointed at Dex’s calendar with the end of her pen.

“Yeah. Of course. You can have the schedules I picked up from each one too. I didn’t fill in meetings that conflicted with our practices and games but you might be able to go to.” He gathered all the papers up and passed them over along with his planner.

“So, why are you missing the meeting tonight? You don’t have a practice or game listed.”

“Oh. Uh. Well.” Dex rubbed a hand over his hair and leaned his head to crack his neck. “Nursey and I had a bet about who would get the first goal in a game and he won.” He tensed and muttered under his breath, “Even though he wouldn’t have gotten it without my assist.”

“And he’s making you pay up tonight? What was did he win?”

Dex took a few deep breaths and tried not to squirm. “We didn’t really set the terms ahead of time.”

Lilah whistled low. “Poor decision.”

“I know.” Dex groaned and covered his face.

————

Nursey was pumped. He’d been riding a high ever since the goal on Saturday and the knowledge that he got to mess with Poindexter because it meant he’d won their bet was just the cherry on top. 

It had taken him a few days to come up with a plan that would sufficiently annoy Dex and provide optimum entertainment for himself. Luckily, Holster had what he needed and was agreeable to joining in on the plan. 

Which is how four d-men were crammed onto the vile green couch watching Shrek 2 in the afternoon. 

Nursey nudged his knee into Dex’s. “So, clearly C is Puss, with the eyes of doom.”

“Shut up and watch the movie, Nurse. You picked it.” 

Nursey didn’t have to look to know that Dex was rolling his eyes. He grinned in response. 

“Who would everyone else be?” Nursey grinned some more as he filled his mouth with some popcorn, ignoring Dex’s groan. “With that flow, Charming should be Shitty.”

“Fine. You’re Donkey. Annoying and never shut up. Now watch the movie.”

“Dude, I was about to say that you’re clearly Dragon.” Holster’s exclamation was extremely loud and Nursey choked and fumbled the popcorn bowl, spilling it all over him and Dex.

Dex immediately started thumping his back, surprisingly not as hard as he expected. “Come on Nurse, do So Big.” He lifted one of Nursey’s hands with the one that wasn’t patting his back, then reached over for some water for Nursey to drink.

“I’m ok. I’m ok. Holy fuck, Holster.”

Holster was cackling, which, rude. He was supposed to be on Nursey’s side.

Dex finally seemed to believe that Nursey was no longer in danger of dying and turned his attention to Holster. “What do you mean, I’m Dragon? She’s not even in this movie. Donkey said they split up.”

Nursey sucked in a sharp breath and worried that he might choke again. “Have- Haven’t you seen this before?”

Dex’s face started turning pink and he shrugged. “I saw the first a couple of years ago. but I never really had a chance to see this one.” He shrugged again and nudged Nursey’s shoulder with his own. “It’s whatever, right? Sequels are never as good. Shut up and watch the movie.”

Nursey glanced over at Holster and could barely contain his glee. The finale they planned was going to be amazing if Dex didn’t even know how the movie goes. Still, he acquiesced to Dex’s desire to actually watch the movie since he was apparently the last person on earth to see it.

————

Nursey finally shut his mouth and Dex was able to watch the movie in relative peace. Relative, because he was pretty sure some of the popcorn that Nursey threw had gone down his shirt and it was irritating him. And he was still crammed onto the biohazard couch between Nursey and Holster. 

Dex thought he might have to recant his previous comment. This sequel might actually be as good as the first. He probably should have borrowed it from the library earlier.

And then it was ending and Dragon was back with little Donkey Dragon babies. And, oh. That’s why Holster thought it was so funny and why Nursey choked. He felt his face heating. 

“Hit it, Holster.” Nursey stood up and then grabbed Dex’s arm to haul him up too. 

Dex allowed himself to be pulled up but twisted around to see what was going on. Holster was messing with the remote, but once he seemed satisfied with that, he nudged Ransom up and they all stood around loosely. 

“Ok. We done then?” Dex looked at Nursey with his eyebrows raised. 

Nursey flung an arm around Dex’s neck and laughed. “Oh no, Dexy. There’s another part to my winning our bet.” Nursey leaned over. “Holster?”

“Coming right up, bro!” Holster started working the remote again. 

“You just heard the lovely Fairy Godmother cover the song, but now, we sing the original Bonnie Tyler version.” Nursey slapped his hand against Dex’s back and grinned. “Told you that you’d sing for me, Dexy.”

Dex stared at Nursey for a long moment, considering. “Sure, whatever.” 

Holster cheered as he got the karaoke program pulled up and the music started. 

The first verse wasn’t too bad. Dex managed to keep himself on the harmony for the most part. Then the chorus came up and he managed to catch a look shared between Nursey and Holster. That was the only warning he got.

“He’s gotta be strong and he’s gotta be fast.” 

And then Nursey was glomped onto his side. It must have been a cue that he’d set up with Holster and Dex could only be grateful that he’d only had to deal with Nursey’s koala impression. Holster had jumped into Ransom’s arms. 

Dex was relieved when Bitty came in after the second chorus and shut everything down. He peeled Nursey’s hands off of him and stepped away. 

“Ok, that fulfills our bet.” He nodded towards Ransom who was groaning under the continued weight of Holster who was still in his arms. “It’s been fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HMU @ [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Technically this is canon adjacent. Bitty's tweets for Nursey's first goal and the "caterwauling" of four d-men were the same day and a Saturday.
> 
> Do I love Lilah? Yes. She's a butch lesbian hijabi, second generation immigrant from Pakistan who plays volleyball and fixes stuff and she loves Farmer lots.


	12. Happy Birthday Nursey!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of COURSE Nursey was born on Valentine's Day. Of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Theo for the beta!
> 
> Thank you to [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka) for suggesting a painter for the image on the card and then dealing with the fact that I decided an Austrian painter meant the poem inside should be by an Austrian poet. Then helping me dig through poems in German and translating the ones that seemed good. Everyone should head over and read all her stuff.
> 
> Sorry this is a day late again. I actually had it ready to go yesterday and just...forgot. Classes started back this week so, we'll see how my schedule goes.

Nursey was feeling pretty chill. He’d gotten his mom’s card two days before. His grandmother had called him to sing to him first thing that morning. His dad hadn’t called or sent a card or anything, but there was a transfer to his bank account, probably by his dad’s assistant.

All in all, a good start to a birthday. Jerry’s even had special offerings for breakfast when he met up with Chowder and Dex there for breakfast.

“Dexy, look at these sweet strawberry pancakes that Jerry’s made just for me.” Nursey smiled as Dex slid into the other side of the booth.

Dex snorted. “They didn’t just make them for you, Nurse. It’s for Valentine’s Day. Even you aren’t oblivious enough to miss the decorations.”

“Nah. Pretty sure it’s all for my birthday. Jerry’s loves me and they want me to feel loved.” Nursey lifted a piece of turkey bacon to his mouth and took a bite, still smiling.

Dex paused with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth, his eyes wide. “Today’s your birthday?”

“Yeah, bro. It’s chill. Whole world celebrates for me.”

“Of course. Of course.” Dex rolled his eyes and started shoveling eggs into his mouth.

“Why is Dex of course-ing?” Chowder put his plate down and slid into the booth next to Dex.

“Because today?” Nursey paused, gesturing with his turkey bacon. “Is my birthday.”

“...of course.” Dex rolled his eyes again so hard that Nursey was afraid he’d hurt himself. 

“Oh my gosh! ‘Swawesome!” Chowder bounced a few times and then looked down at his phone. “Bitty wants to know what kind of birthday pie you want and Ransom and Holster said they’ll throw you a birthday kegster.”

“Wha? How did you already tell them?” Dex was staring at Chowder now, which seemed an improvement in many ways.

“Told you everyone celebrates my birthday.” Nursey popped more of his food into his mouth and smiled smugly while chewing.

He started digging in his bag and once he finally swallowed, he pushed the card over towards Chowder. “Hey C. Check out this chill card my mom sent.”

Even though he hadn’t said Dex should look at it, Dex leaned over and read it over Chowder’s shoulder. Nursey didn’t mind, it was a really great card with an image of his favorite Hundertwasser painting, _Man Find in Zahala_ , and inside was Zweig’s “Träume”.

“Du mußt dich ganz deinen Träumen vertrauen  
Und ihr heimlichstes Wesen erlernen,  
Wie sie sich hoch in den flutenden blauen  
Fernen verlieren gleich wehenden Sternen.  
Und wenn sie in deine Nächte glänzen  
Und Wunsch und Wille, Geschenk und Gefahr  
Lächelnd verknüpfen zu flüchtigen Kränzen,  
So nimm sie wie milde Blüten ins Haar.  
Und schenke dich ganz ihrem leuchtenden Spiele:  
In ihnen ist Wahrheit des ewigen Scheins,  
Schöne Schatten all deiner Ziele  
Rinnen sie einst mit den Taten in Eins.”

Dex’s pronunciation was horrible and Nursey laughed under his breath. “Yeah. Something like that. It’s about following your goals, your dreams.”

“‘Swawesome.” Chowder’s voice was quiet, nearly reverent while Dex merely nodded and returned to his food.

“What else did they get you? A new car?” Dex is mumbling into his food and not looking up.

“Nah. Granny called and Dad wired some money, well his assistant did.” Nursey shrugged. “Not like 19 is a huge deal for something special.” 

Dex fixed him with a level look that dragged out as the seconds ticked by. “Huh. Well, it sounds like Bitty and Ransom and Holster think it’s a big deal.”

————

After they finished eating, Dex tapped Chowder to get him to hang back a bit.

“Hey Chow, what did your parents get you for your birthday?” Dex spoke low and gestured to keep the response quiet as well since Nursey hadn’t pulled very far away.

“Um. They sent me some new Sharks blankets and they adopted four sharks for me.” Chowder bumped his shoulder into Dex’s. “Why?”

“Four sharks? How do you adopt four sharks?” Dex stopped walking and stared at him incredulously. 

“Oh! It’s a symbolic adoption? The World Wildlife Fund has adoption kits to help their conservation efforts. And they have ones for great white sharks and for whale sharks and for hammerhead sharks and for leopard sharks. So my parents did one of each. The adoption comes with a little stuffed shark so I got four new Sharkies out of it.” Chowder bounced slightly and flashed a grin at Dex. 

Dex rubbed a hand over his head. “Oh. Okay. That makes sense. That’s really cool, man. You should show them to me sometime. Hey, tell the others that I’ll be by the Haus later, okay? I just remembered I need to take care of something first.”

Dex tapped his knuckles against Chowder’s shoulder and gave him a quick smile before jogging to catch up to Nursey.

“Hey Nurse. The team’s waiting for you at the Haus, why don’t I take your bag to your dorm so you don’t have to go there first?” Dex huffed and held out his hand.

The hand remained empty and Dex looked over to see Nursey staring back, calculating. “Why are you being nice to me, Dex?”

Dex rolled his eyes and snorted. “I’m always nice, Nurse. I gotta head back to campus for something anyway. Just give me the damn bag.” He shook his hand to emphasize his point and after a few seconds the strap to Nursey’s bag landed in it.

“Thanks, bro.” Nursey smiled but Dex just nodded and hitched the strap up his shoulder before striding off.

At first, he’d thought that it was a rich person thing. Maybe rich families just always give money so that the person can buy what they like instead of picking something out. It didn’t make sense. Dex had always liked the process the most, thinking about something that would really mean something to the receiver. 

Then, he’d talked to Chowder and found out that maybe it was just a Nurse family thing. Sure, it didn’t take a lot of insight to realize that Chowder would love Sharks gear and shark plushies. But it was still something his family knew he’d love with his whole heart.

And it didn’t seem right for Nursey to not get any presents for his birthday. Which is how Dex was in the student bookstore thirty minutes before the early close for Saturday, staring at a shelf of books and panicking. He wanted to grab one of the Discworld books, but what if Nursey already had it? Or worse, hadn’t read any of them before? 

Dex glanced at the time on his phone. Twenty minutes until close. He looked over at the register and saw the student worker watching him. He hated being this customer.

He let out a long sigh and grabbed a journal that was bound in red leather, probably fake, and embossed with the Samwell University logo. He scooped up a roll of argyle patterned Samwell red wrapping paper and hurried to the register to try to make the process as quick as possible. 

Dex jogged to his dorm to wrap the journal and write a quick card that just said “Happy Birthday. -A Friend” and then shoved the gift into Nursey’s bag towards the bottom. After dropping the bag at Nursey’s room (he’d kept a key after the Epikegster event), he jogged over to the Haus while mentally refiguring his budget for the next two weeks until his next pay day. 

He might have to ask Ransom to postpone any mandatory d-man bonding sessions.

————

Nursey didn’t get home from his birthday slash anti-Valentine’s Day kegster until late, so he fell into his bed and crashed hard. Unfortunately, his birthday and the game on Friday would not be considered a viable excuse for turning his homework in late. 

Which was why he had dumped his bag out onto his bed at eleven the next morning. He would be embarrassed to say it took him a few minutes to realize that there was an extra item amongst his books and notebooks, but to be fair, he was still pretty hung over.

He actually made some headway on his reading before he threw his book down in frustration to take a break. The book made the wrapping paper crinkle and pulled his attention to it. 

He quickly grabbed the package and ripped the paper off, eager for something else to focus on. Once he had the journal in his hands, he stopped and stared, confused. He opened it, but there was only a note tucked inside the cover saying happy birthday. 

Nursey furrowed his brows as he reached over for his phone.

Me: Did you put something in my bag yesterday, Poindexter?

There was no reply for several minutes, and he stared at the note, trying to think if he knew the handwriting. Finally, his phone buzzed with a message alert.

Opie: No. just dumped it in your room.  
Me: Ok. Chill. No one else had access to it?  
Opie: No. told you. just put it in your room. y?  
Me: Just found something in it that I didn’t remember being there at Jerry’s. No big.  
Opie: *eye roll emoji*  
Opie: you have more in there than Mary Poppins

Nursey snorted and switched to the group chat.

Me: Yo. Looks like I’ve got a secret admirer.  
Me: *img attached*  
Holster: Sweeet  
Ransom: Broooooo  
Dex: *eye roll emoji**eye roll emoji**eye roll emoji*  
Chowder: !!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Check out [Man Find in Zahala here.](http://www.artnet.com/artists/friedensreich-hundertwasser/man-find-in-zahala-UlFH9KvjboPxBe-pdkLfEg2)
> 
> Lukutoukka's translation of Träume
> 
> "you must completely trust yourself to your dreams  
> and learn their most furtive nature,  
> how they high in the surging blue  
> distances lose themselves like wafting stars.  
> and when they shine into your nights  
> and wish and will, gift and danger  
> smiling intertwine to fleeting garlands,  
> so take them like gentle blossoms into your hair.  
> and gift yourself completely to their brilliant games:  
> in them is truth of the eternal glow,  
> beautiful shadows of all your goals  
> they trickle once with the actions into one."

**Author's Note:**

> *Mayberry is a reference to the Andy Griffith Show. Nursey will comment about Dex with references to that show and Opie Taylor specifically a few times over the course of the fic.
> 
> I'm not sure what sort of schedule I will keep because I want to post in chronological order, but I'm not really writing in chronological order. 
> 
> But anyway, I hope you liked it. Thank you for reading.


End file.
